Humans are social animals as agreed by scientists. Having said that, the lockdown period has been particularly hard due to the fact that most of us are forced not to get outside our homes or keep it to the minimum. Meeting friends is not encouraged as the government has put up guidelines of social distancing. This was ok 20 years ago when most of us lived in a joint family surrounded by a bunch of other people. In today’s world where we all live in a nuclear family setup, being around one or two people for months may damage your mental health. On top of it, feeding yourself with news of fears we hear about the pandemic getting worse is taking a major toll on your overall health.
This is why doctors have started pushing forward the importance of mental health and how to be sane in these insane times.
The Importance of ‘Me Time’:
Now, there are a lot of people out there who would make a list of dos and don’ts in your ‘Me Time’. Well, we do not agree with that. When you take out time for yourself, the most important thing that you should do is spend time doing what you feel like. It does not just mean that you should sit and meditate (it does help, but not when you are not in the mood).
It is OK to Do Something Different:
Different people enjoy different activities. If you are someone who feels like himself or herself when you play a video game, you can do so as that is how you are programmed to vent out your frustration. In fact, gaming is a good way to stimulate your mind and take off the focus from what is going around in reality (we need to clear our minds off the pandemic at times).
Games like PUBG transports you into another world and keeps your mind occupied for an hour or two. I know many people may call this as an addiction but if you are careful to game responsibly, it will only help you refresh your mind. If you enjoy card games, then indulging in playing online real-money teen Patti is a great way to take away the negativity for a while and a good opportunity to make some extra money during the time of economic crisis.
Stick to the Basics:
Yes, we still would suggest you do follow a healthy diet, workout, and meditate if possible, every day as it does help in improving your physical as well as mental health. Just do not overlap these activities with the things you love to do as many people do not enjoy working out or doing any form of physical activity. So, workout at least 45 minutes for 5 days a week but take out your “Me Time” every day.
Balance-out Life and Work:
Lockdown has forced most of us to work from home, which we felt was a good thing as work-life integration could get easier. But now as we have worked for months staying at home, most people feel that the work time is engulfing the family and Me time. This may not seem like a big deal now but will take a toll on your mental health sooner or later. Offices are struggling to avoid further losses and retain their employees. This makes the situations uncertain, which is why people are working 12 hours every day to make sure they do have a job. It is a tricky situation as you need to do what you need to do in order to save your employment, but not at the cost of your mental health.
In fact, the fear of losing your job is another major cause of mental stress and let us be honest, the majority of us are just thinking about it and thankful for the jobs we have.
Decide a hard-shut time for work and stick to it. You can plan your day better in-order to give yourself some time off. Remember, it is not the number of hours that matters but the amount of work you finish. Plan your days well to increase your productivity at work so you get some time for yourself too.
In Conclusion:
We will never know the end date of this pandemic as the tentative date gets pushed further and further. Earlier we thought it was only going to last for a few months but now it feels like it is not going anywhere at least till the end of 2020 and can extend further. We need to prepare ourselves to be in better mental shape so that even if it does extend for months, it will not affect our state of mind.
