Unstructured days, messed-up schedules, canceled plans, quarantine, limited or even non-existent social interactions. All the circumstances that were imposed on us during the COVID-19 outbreak, hindering our motivation and limiting our productivity. Integrative Coach at International Association of Coaching Institutes (ICI) Maggie Balbaa categorized the situation as ‘traumatic’. Referencing the book “On Death and Dying” by MD, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, the stages we go through facing trauma vary between denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and acceptance. Amid the instability, people tend to go around these stages in a non-linear way. Accordingly, Maggie shared the following tips to protect our mental well-being during the lockdown.
Tip 1: Create a new routine at home. A new routine adapted to this new lifestyle will add some consistency to the current chaos and help set your whole system at ease. For example, have allocated times for meals preparation, work, and so forth.
Tip 2: Find a hobby and do it every day.
Tip 3: Work on yourself. Through the quarantine, it is a great opportunity to start listening and discovering yourself.
Tip 4: For already depressed and anxious people, consistent work like physical workouts, as simple as taking outdoor walks or doing some mat work at home, can help. It has been proven by research that meditation also helps, through the changes it physically has on the brain.
Tip 5: While checking the news, monitor yourself and don’t test your limits. If it’s overwhelming for you, retract a bit.
Tip 6: Same goes for Social Media, stop consuming it for a while if it gets too much. You can deactivate your account for some time or take a time off the apps by deleting them for at least a week.
Tip 7: For Corona patients, one’s mental status should be ready before the virus hits. Accordingly, meditate, be mindful, and work on yourself for the best shots for a healthy mental, psychological, and spiritual state.
Tip 8: Work on strengthening your immunity, which is directly correlated with psychological health. Stress and anxiety mess with our immune system and make us more susceptible to health threats.