A platitude of articles and content about being productive during lockdown flood different social media platforms these days, resulting in an unspoken competition between users to be the most productive. However, this trend does more harm than good. Individuals are pressured to be as productive as the next account, attempting a picture-perfect, Instagrammable life. But behind the screen, life will never be as picturesque as a 1 x 1 post or a 15 second long Instagram story.
However, not doing anything is never good for your mental health either. Spending your days in bed staring at your screen, jumping from application to application is definitely not the way anyone wants to spend months in lockdown. Not having anything to do will cause any person out there to spiral into irrational thoughts, thinking of what-if scenarios that are unlikely to ever happen.Â
Keeping your health in check is the key to survive quarantine. You don’t necessarily need to leave lockdown with a body like Chloe Ting’s or with a successful start-up (but if you manage to do that, kudos to you, and do teach us your ways!) Merely entering the world post-pandemic being A-OK is essential and should be the basic goal prioritised by everyone. Thus, here are a few tips to help maintain your emotional health:
Acknowledge and address your feelings
This article shows how being in lockdown can affect anyone’s mental health condition. Whatever you are feeling right now, it’s important to know that it’s ok to feel that way. Make time to notice and express your emotions because bottling things up is never healthy. Even when you’re at your lowest point in life, it’s still alright because that way, the only way you have is up. In addition to that, know that you possess all the power you need to have a happy state of mind.Â
Focus on things you can control
If you are afraid of contracting the coronavirus, you can maintain your personal hygiene and the area you’re living in for instance. You may not be a virologist, so worrying about when the vaccine will become available is beyond your control. If other things are making you unhappy, do what you can about it and ignore the ones you have no power over. Sometimes, it’s best to accept things the way they are instead of stressing over the ones you can’t change.Â
Separate work and personal time
With the absence of commute, separating work and personal life can be blurry when working from home. Maintaining a routine and scheduling work and personal time is paramount when in lockdown. Being at home and having free time might pressure anyone into squeezing work and awkward times of the day. However, this is not sustainable in the long run because it will cause burnouts. To help you adjust to working from home, this article might just be the bible to guide your WFH experience.
Make time for your hobbies and interests
Making yourself happy is within your own power, and doing the things that bring you joy is a fool proof way. Read a book, try out a new recipe, play video games, whatever. It doesn’t matter what you enjoy, but as long as it gets you out of your worries, you should always make some time for it each day. It may be hard to begin doing things you find enjoyable when motivation is low, but starting is only the hardest part. Once you get over that barrier, you’ll be reminded of how that activity brings you comfort.Â
Stay connected with the ones you love
Social relationships keep the mind and body healthy. Connecting with those who matter to us will create a great impact towards our overall mood and creates a sense of comfort and stability. Humans are inherently social creatures and going against that nature will affect our health negatively. Go online and video call the ones you care about, or stay in touch through social media. Social media is a powerful tool to be connected, however you should be mindful of how you use it. Block out keywords and avoid topics that cause anxiety, and set a limit for the amount of time spent online.
Don’t spend time doing nothing
Occasionally laying down in bed doing nothing, maybe with some music playing in the background can be a good way to take breaks sometimes. However, if your day to day activity is dominated by doing such things, it will deteriorate your mental health. Doing nothing will cause yourself to bounce back and forth into negative thoughts in the walls of your head, leading you to spiral out of control. Without activities to get your mind off things especially during a global pandemic will make yourself drown in irrational thoughts and what-if scenarios that are unlikely to ever happen.
If you ever feel yourself starting to spiral into negativity, try to ground yourself into reality and the things around you. Take control of your breaths, pay attention to your surroundings, and gently bring your mind back into your body. In addition, telling yourself that those negative thoughts are irrational and silly is also essential after overthinking.
Be kind to yourself
It doesn’t take a single snap of a finger to have a healthy mindset. It requires a process of trying and failing before reaching success, and it’s completely okay. If you fail to do any of these things, it’s ok to give yourself a break and allow yourself to try again. Through failure, lessons are learned so you can find success in the next attempts. Remember to be kind to yourself and leaving the pandemic just find is the basic goal to reach before trying to leave as a better person.
Disclaimer: the views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent the views of The Development Cafe.
References:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/coronavirus-anxiety.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/24/productivity-in-coronavirus-lockdown
Youtube: Lockdown Productivity: Spaceship You – uploaded by CGP Grey