The coronavirus has broken into our lives generating stress, anxiety, some bouts of compulsive shopping and a long confinement. It is time to stand firm against it and prevent it from affecting our mood. Psychologists have the key to achieve it.
This is what there is: after the declaration of the state of alert for the coronavirus, most of us have been locked in the house in a better or worse mood. In addition to preparing our coronavirus-proof home and trying not to panic, we can do little to manage the sentimental crisis to which the two-week confinement exposes us.
Don’t focus on not being able to go out, but on doing something good. Staying at home is not a waste of time, it is the most responsible thing you can do and your way of helping health workers and the population that is at risk of becoming seriously ill due to the coronavirus. By staying home, you save lives. The best of all is that the more people comply with this indication, the sooner we can get out of our confinement and we will all win.
Try not to obsess over the subject
The information is fine, the over information is not. If this over-information comes in addition to unverified Twitter accounts, WhatsApp hoaxes and confusing messages from Facebook or Instagram … worse than worse because it is one of the main factors that generate anxiety. valium for pain Stay informed by watching the news only once a day or consulting the web of some reliable means once a day, but you do not need more. Dedicate your time to other more constructive and enjoyable activities that are not related to this topic so as not to aggravate your negative feelings.
Do not isolate yourself
Having to be at home does not mean having to be isolated. Talk daily with your friends, your family … trying to bring them calm and tranquillity. Put the technology on your side and organize video conferences with your loved ones to encourage you and tell you about the day to day.
For the first time you have time, take advantage of it
There are recipes that you always wanted to try and you have never had time to put yourself to it. Or put into operation that sewing machine that was given to you a couple of years ago and has been collecting dust in a corner ever since. Or regain your taste for writing or painting. Put creativity to work in your favour
You can move
Even in your living room. Download exercise apps, retrieve the console games that became famous for making you dance, consult YouTube tutorials … Doing a little exercise every day will help you combat stress and anxiety.
Ask your support network for help
You are not superman nor do you have to. Confinement can create psychological distress and you can have bad times. Nothing happens. Acknowledge negative feelings, take a deep breath, and ask your support network for help. It also doesn’t hurt to reserve a “safe space” as a family: a place to go when we begin to feel that our emotions overwhelm us to be alone for five minutes and to be able to practice some type of relaxing breathing until the worst is over.
Keep a schedule, especially if there are children at home
Nothing to stop showering, eat when you are hungry as if the clock did not exist or start cleaning the bathrooms at one in the morning. You have to establish a new routine because equipping the day with structure helps us manage stress. Routine and planning are essential at this time and if there are children at home, more. Set a schedule with them, for example, in the morning you have to do homework, after eating a bit of video games and, in the afternoon, a family activity (which can be from playing Parcheesi all together to organizing a film session in family). And make them accomplices of the first point: that they stay at home and collaborate is also an act of responsibility that they have to be proud of.
it’s time to practice mindfulness
In circumstances such as today we tend to project ourselves into the future and expect the worst from it. Do not anticipate and even less if it is to take you for a walk through an imaginary post-apocalyptic world. It’s time to focus on the present and the things you can do because they are under your control.
In circumstances such as today we tend to project ourselves into the future and expect the worst from it. Do not anticipate and even less if it is to take you for a walk through an imaginary post-apocalyptic world. It’s time to focus on the present and the things you can do because they are under your control.
Take care a lot
Practice self-care. Expose yourself every day for 20 minutes to sunlight every day (if you don’t have a terrace, a window is enough), eat healthy, follow a few schedules to get up and go to bed… in short, meet the parameters of a healthy life.
- Live every day and focus on the present, since we cannot plan anything in the face of the uncertain future of this situation.
- Reencounter and recognize ourselves. More than ever we contact our own current reality, in the here and now.
- Share with those around us in the best possible way, be tolerant and compassionate.
- Learn new relaxation techniques, such as breathing and meditation. There are tutorials on the internet.
- Find activities to distract yourself from the problem, to focus attention on another topic, so as not to be constantly thinking about it. For example, cooking.
- Organize a schedule that includes productive work or study, recreational activities, and doing things you like, like reading, painting, gardening, or watching series and movies.
- Take advantage of ordering, making changes or house arrangements that there is never time to make.
- Perform as much physical activity as possible indoors. In social networks there are many ideas.
- Contact by phone or video call with loved ones, people whom we cannot see and spend time talking to them.
10. Consult a specialist when these problems interfere daily. Follow some type of pharmacological treatment indicated especially for these disorders, without self-medication.
