7 WAYS TO DE-STRESS IN THE TIMES OF CORONAVIRUS
You thought you knew it all. Isn’t it? You were sure about
what you were doing and why. You knew what was ‘important’ and what wasn’t. You
accepted the look and feel of the world. You kept resisting change till like a coil spring, change rebounded so dramatically that you are now living in a world you
couldn’t have imagined even a month back. Not just illness, Coronavirus has
brought with it STRESS, unanticipated both in terms of quantity and form.
Let’s look at 7 things you can do to mitigate this unprecedented
stress brought in by Coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown which has
restricted you to your homes.
1. STAY INFORMED
To defeat the enemy, you need to know it well. Find out exactly what is
Coronavirus and what can you do to keep it bay and eventually defeat. It is
important though that you get your information from genuine sources and don’t
believe in everything that you read or listen. In fact, your first reaction
should be to ‘disbelieve’ everything that you come across unless you verify it
from the legitimate sources. I have come across absurd, incorrect and
instigating forwards sent by highly educated people so don’t just brush this
aside thinking that you are above board.
2. FOLLOW A ROUTINE
Even while under the shutdown, follow your daily and weekly routine religiously.
If you are a white collared employee and working from home, get ready for work
exactly how you were doing earlier, designate a corner or a room as your office
and be there as if you are in office. Take breaks as you would have otherwise
taken for tea/coffee and lunch. If you were self-employed or had a shop that is
now shut, even then get ready at the same time as you would do earlier and fill
up the time knowing more about the industry you operate, learning ways of
improving your business once it reopens or enrolling in some course that you
had always wanted to pursue but were not able to do so.
3. STAY HEALTHY
This is the time when you need to be at the best of your health, both
physically and mentally. Physically because you want your body to be strong and
immune to the virus which is lurking in the shadows looking for opportunity to
pounce at you. Also, you need to be mentally healthy to ward off the stress
that this pandemic has created. You are worried about whether the world will
come to an end, the economic recession this would lead to, depleting of wealth
due to stock market crash, possible loss of job, financial strain leading to
inability to pay EMIs, postponement of weddings, impact on your children’s
education just to name a few. Since your movement is restricted, each day take Vitamin C for immunity, do 30
minutes of Yoga for physical fitness and 15-20 minutes of meditation for mental
relaxation.
4. DON’T DISCUSS CORONAVIRUS THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Thanks (or No, Thanks) to Whatsapp/Instagram/Facebook/etc, you receive continuous
barrage of messages, news, updates, opinions and analysis about what you should
or should not be doing or how the world is ending. Continuous exposure to this will
have the same effect on your mind just like any other constant exposure for eg
of sunlight or laser will have on your body. Mute the group notifications and go
through the messages 2-3 times in a day, read e-paper for max 30 minutes and
watch TV news once also for about 30 minutes. Include this as part of your
routine as per #2 above and stick to it. Since we are restricted at homes, we
are calling our friends and family more than earlier and obviously end up
discussing coronavirus. Limit such calls to 1-2 in a day.
5. LIVE IN TODAY
None of us know what will happen tomorrow. When will the lockdown end? Will
the supply of essentials continue as normal? What will happen to the economy? When
will we find a cure for the virus? Will we be able to go back to the ‘normal’
life that we are used to? Will there be more such viruses popping up in the
future? Let me tell you the right answer for all these questions. “We don’t
know”. No one knows. And that includes scientists, doctors, leaders,
politicians or even astrologers and tarot card readers. No one. So, in this
scenario, the best thing you can do is to live in today. Enjoy your present
because that is the only thing you can influence.
6. ENGAGE IN A HOBBY
A hobby is something that no one forces you to do. When you were a child,
you got attracted to something purely by nature, led by your genetic code. During
the lockdown, pick up any of the indoor hobbies that you can pursue (Painting,
Calligraphy, listening to music, playing musical instrument, reading, writing,
knitting etc.) or pull out you coins / stamps / comics collection or old family
photo albums. It doesn’t really matter what you do. The whole idea is to do
what you really like which would mitigate the effect of stress you are going
through. If you don’t like to read, for example, then instead listen to
audiobooks. Since hobbies are something that truly interests you, time will
just fly away. Being engrossed with a hobby helps in calming the nerves. Much
like what alcohol (or any other intoxicating substance) does. Pursue a hobby
and be saved from pouring a drink every day as well.
7. SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH FAMILY
The
lockdown has given you the time that you never had. The time with your family.
For all you know, in your lifetime, you might not get this chance again (and we
pray that we don’t) so why not make the most out of it. Use this time to mend
the relationships with your Parents, spouse or children. Talk to each other and
discuss stuff that had been pending for long. Do things together that would
help in cementing the bonds for the times to come for eg, do household chores
together, play games or sing songs and watch TV / Movies together. Don’t just
sit in separate corners glued to your respective phones as in #4 above.
As Manuj Shahpuri said long back, “The best thing about
time is that it passes, whether good or bad”. This time too shall pass. I was
telling my son that now he has a ‘story’ to tell his grandchildren. As for
today, let us work together to ward off the disease and the emanating stress.
God Bless.
Read my book, "Distress to De-Stress: Managing Stress in the 21st Century"
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