Stress = COVID-19

Hello Reader :) 

When you say that happiness is within, then you must be living a Mystic life. I believe that my readers are not soul seekers. We are like any other human beings, seeking for love, happiness, peace, acceptance and humanity. However, we are not sure whether we are only seekers or giving the same to others. We all have that moment of sadness, jealous, hopelessness, fear, disappointment, hatred or anger which causes Stress.

Stress is inevitable and there is no cure for it, which means that we can only cope with it. There is no one on this earth living a stress-free life. Of course, there are many of us who are successfully coping with stress.

Today I would like to share my views on how stress has brought changes amidst the global pandemic situation. The current COVID-19 has caused fear in every single being irrespective of age, gender, race or creed. It has got us into a lot of thinking like fear of death, fear of losing a job, fear of going hungry, fear of losing someone you love, fear of future, fear of financial crisis and so on. It has caused a rift in many families, has affected emotional stability and the mental status of human life.

However, for some optimists or who has not been affected much are living a life of opportunities like exploring their skills and talents in cooking, gardening, self-grooming, fitness challenge, dance, music, gaming and some have immersed into a spiritual journey, yoga and meditation.

I wonder…

What about the life of those who are fighting the disease? And their families? What about those who are spreading awareness about the disease? And the ones who are helping the helpless? What about the NGOs, celebrities and the wealthy who are into their selfless service? Are they not under stress?

Above all the doctors, the nurses, paramedics and other health care professionals who are working mindfully day and night to save the lives of humanity are the ones who need the most psychological support. They not only need motivation and appreciation for their work. Most importantly they need someone who can hear them out patiently without being judgemental when they vent out. It’s the conventional wisdom of the public to accept their stressful thoughts. We very conveniently call our doctors the soldiers, waging war against this new virus. They do not want to be called ‘martyrs’, sacrificing their life rather they would prefer to continue to do their job peacefully unless there is no reckless behaviour from the government and society.

Let’s learn from one of the doctor’s perspectives about this traumatic circumstance, who works in the government hospital. She shares with me that this pandemic situation is new to all and making us go through the different zones of life. We are in a state of learning and managing the situation. The most vulnerable are people aged 50 and above with existing medical conditions. However, we also had a case of an infant being contracted with the virus. This fatal situation has not got serious in many people yet. She also suggests that the people aged between 25-35 years to take this pandemic seriously and help the vulnerable age group to manage this crisis situation. We need to believe that we will cross this state and resume our normal life. Those who are ignorant about it are actually worsening the situation and are definitely not contributing to the global wellness of people.

The doctor continued saying that “the health care team have put their life at stake and have made the lives of the public as their priority. The best support we receive at this point of time is majorly from our family and the extended support is received from police, health and administration department. We continue to ignore the negativity and concentrate on what best possible we can do with our prolonged duty timings.

We too have dreams about our family and future. We are also anxious about the desires of our future will ever come true. We struggle to cope with our physical and mental health. It is highly challenging to manage the fear and beat this chronic stress. We all continue to serve with cent per cent hope”.

Coping strategies

Stress is inevitable!

We cannot get over stress. We can only cope with it. Coping with stress is a way of life. We all have our own ways of handling a stressful situation. Here are a few suggestions to channelize our stress in a meaningful approach.

• Stress is a root cause for any major psychological problems. So whenever you are in a stressful situation find the right person who will listen without analysing/ judging you and then speak your mind out. This vent out time is like cleaning your trash can. You will feel a moment of relief and that helps you to focus on the solution rather than on a problem.

• When you do not vent out or find a solution for your problem there is a risk of psychologically getting affected and that leading to psychosomatic disorders. Therefore, channelize your energy appropriately to keep your spirit lifted.

• With your friends and family members share about something good or different deed that you did for the day and how you felt about it.

• Accepting that stress is inevitable and viewing it as a new challenge. This will help you to see the problem from an altered perspective and focus more on the solution part.

• Have an affirmation that helps you to be an optimist. The affirmation can be as simple as “I am compassionate”. You can do this in a prayer hall or temple or on your bed before sleeping or after you wake up. Repeating this for a few numbers of times in a day or at any point of time when you are losing hope. It will help you to see life from a new angle. It is a kind of meditation.

• Our mind & bodywork hand in hand. Taking care and nurturing your body will rejuvenate your mind. So grab your shoes or yoga mat to exercise, run, jog or practice yoga asana in order to erode the demon called stress.

• Last but not least, unclutter the factors that pull you into a stressful situation. It can be a person or an object.

“Stress-free life is = to lesson not learnt”.

Here I come to an end. Let’s enable our mind to contribute and play a small role in curbing this pandemic situation collectively. When you follow the current popular motto, “STAY HOME STAY SAFE” then you are contributing to the wellness of the human race. We can combat this stressful situation without being under stress because YOU ARE STRONGER THAN WHAT YOU THINK!

Thank you so much for reading till the end and I am sure that you would have a lesson to take away from my writings. Looking forward to your consistent support.

 

Sending you Love & Light

SANGEETHA :)