How to deal with Covid-19 stress??

The epidemic of Covid-19 covering the major part of world’s population has defeated the enormous human development of Science and Technology. Due to vast spread and crisis situation, it has badly affected the mental health and psychological wellbeing of mankind. Due to repeated media exposure, everybody feels like “seized” and wandering in the sea of hopelessness. In history, mankind has faced various epidemic situations, fought bravely and defeated the ruthless circumstances. We can also defeat this situation by joint efforts and following preventive measures. In this article, we’ll find out how a person can manage his stress levels with his own help & can come out this situation positively and confidently.

Stress is a bodily response to the unwanted situations that encourage changes in your physical and mental state helping you either to escape from the situation or face it head-on. The stress response is a survival strategy and is your body’s way of providing you with a biological mechanism to deal with life-threatening situations. Like anything in life, too much of a good thing can become a problem. The stress response is essential, but if activated and sustained over long periods of time, you are likely to experience both psychological and physical damage.

Managing the Stress

Historically, our thinking patterns are built in a way that we attract negativity much more than the positivity in our lives. Due to repeated exposure towards the negative news about such a situation, we feel helpless and demotivated towards the destination. Human motivation in any situations depends upon that how much control we got over the situation. Due to widespread negative orientation, we are bound to think that nothing we can do about the situation.

Same is happening in the Covid-19 situation, media exposure is creating hopelessness, and the information shelling is creating anxiety and stress. As a psychologist, I’ll suggest to reduce this media exposure and devote this time towards other positive and learning based activities so that our lockdown time becomes fruitful for us in the future outcomes. You can use this time to recite Holy Quran with translation, you can read books on Seerah, history and self-development. You can start a new hobby like gardening, cooking, and others. Various institutes are offering free online courses, register yourselves there. Time is very valuable, do not waste it on watching and spreading social media news. Reduce your screen time up to 1-2 hours a day.

Sleep is very important for healthy body and healthy mind. Make a regular sleep cycle of 6-7 hours daily. Go to bed early and wake up early in the morning. Spend some time on physical exercise. Take deep breaths and be thankful to Allah for His every blessing. Avoid sleeping during the day. Avoid a heavy meal and eating late at night.

Stress and Food, the increased levels of stress are also linked to our food intake. The following are some dietary tips that will help you:

·         Drink plenty of water – not only is it good for your skin, it helps to flush out toxins and keeps your kidneys in good working order. Around eight large glasses a day is best.

·         Make sure you eat at least six times a day. By eating little and often and ensuring that you do not skip meals you will help your blood sugar levels stay balanced.

·         Try to avoid ‘fast food’, as it usually contains more fat and additives than are not good for health.

·         Try to avoid overdose of coffee, tea, cola drinks, and sugary chocolate, as all these contain varying amounts of caffeine.  Try to avoid saturated fats, as these can lead to health problems.

Relaxation can also play an important part in dealing with stress. Take time to enjoy a bath, light some candles and play some gentle music while you take time for yourself. Dim the lights in the lounge, play some gentle music, close your eyes, and allow yourself time to relax. Take some time to enjoy your garden or local park. Take time to look at all the trees and flowers.

Breathing a rescue remedy that can be used anytime and anywhere, When you find yourself feeling stressed, or are about to deal with a difficult situation, it can be useful:

·         Breathe in through your nose for a count of four.

·         Breathe out through your mouth for a count of five.

·         As you breathe out, consciously relax your shoulders.

As you breathe in and out, use your stomach muscles to control your breathing.

Hopefully, these stress management techniques will help you to burst out the Covid-19 stress and also in other general stressful situations.

Abdul Bari Nomani

(The writer is Islamabad based psychologist, Peer Educator and Blogger, and Mission Holder Positive Pakistan Foundation)