Listen to “Mental Health Tips to Reduce Anxiety”.
The current time of crisis is generating significant stress in populations throughout the world. Anxiety, doubt, fear and other sentiments may be affecting you or your loved ones, but it’s important to remember, this is a unique situation, and it’s only temporary.
One of the most dangerous things for our mental health is having too much time to think about and criticise our lives. When self-isolating, we have a lot of time to reflect, and we often experience a greater sense of dissatisfaction in our lives as a result.
It’s easy to fall into a habit of critiquing your life and yourself. However, it’s crucial that you avoid these negative cognitive spirals, as they can significantly impact your mental health and quality of life. They can also make it more difficult for you to sleep and concentrate, and can even affect your eating habits.
Now more than ever, we must start taking better care of ourselves holistically, in order to be healthy in body and mind.
Remember, you are not alone. People all around the world have seen their lives change pace and slow down. It’s OK to slow your pace, too.
Try and see the current situation as a unique period in your life, even though you didn’t choose it, it’s not necessarily a bad one. It has brought a different rhythm into your life and a chance to be in touch with others in new ways.
Here are some tips to help you stay sound in mind and body:
Take a break from the news.
The 24-hour news cycle can cause your anxiety to spike. Therefore, you should give yourself a limit to how much news you watch.
Stick to relevant news and what’s happening in your community and try limiting your news intake to a maximum of 30-60 minutes. Alternatively, check news updates just once or twice a day from 1 or 2 reliable news sources; this should be enough to keep you informed.
Take one thing at a time
When it’s time to focus on working, focus on one task at a time. We live in an attention economy, meaning cell phones, social media, and technology have decreased the time we will spend on a single task. However, jumping from one thing to another can be stressful and causes us to leave things undone.
Create a list of priorities and use it to stay focused on what you need to do first. Work your way through the list methodically until each task is complete. After all, there’s only so much of you to go around.
Be active
It’s not easy to maintain a physically active routine at home, and it can be tempting to swap your office chair for the sofa. However, after a few days of doing minimal exercise, your body will start to ache.
Make time to work out every day, whether it’s dancing, walking around the house, doing squats, or stretching, every movement counts.
Top tip: You can track your daily activity with the DeepH app, plus if you prefer not to wear a fitness tracker at home, you can manually add info about your workout times and activity types.
Control what you eat
While it may seem obvious, we sometimes fail to control what we eat, especially when we are stressed. However, this added stress and poor diet can weaken our immune systems, so it’s important to be proactive about eating healthily.
Stick to regular meals with the correct nutritional variety and avoid snacking. Anxiety can often prompt us to comfort eat, so you need to be aware and manage those urges when.
Try relaxation practice
Setting aside at least 10 to 20 minutes a day for relaxation practice can help your mind stay focused and healthy. Breathing exercises and meditation are great for starting out.
If you never tried to meditate before, make use of smartphone apps and other aids. Many people find that smartphone apps or audio downloads can be useful in guiding them through different relaxation practices, establishing a routine, and keeping track of their progress. DeepH healing, stress and sleep meditations are a great tool to help you relax and unwind in uncertain times.
