It has been 4 months since the COVID-19 pandemic forced us all to stay back at home. Whether it is entertainment or work, we are accommodating it all from our home itself. Businesses went down and the whole country touched on recession quickly. Due to a virus that is not visible to our eyes, we all are living amid pretty visible chaos. 

You know the Mental Health of masses has taken a toll when even the introverts wish for the lockdown to be over. Mental health, an issue already ignored a lot in India, is now one of the most sensitive issues in every professional’s mind. It is hard for everyone to cope up with the sudden shift in the work environment, lifestyle, socialization, and even entertainment. Below are some of the tips to balance things out to get through this chaos in a calmer way.

Talk About It

Isolation is one of the first experiences of lockdown. It may work well for many professionals to perform better, especially for the ones in creative fields. But, it can also harm the productivity of those whose work thrives on interaction. Knowing that a particular type of interaction is uncomfortable right now, if not forbidden may end you feeling isolated. 

The first step to ease this feeling is to talk. Talk to your family, friends, or colleagues about anything and everything you used to earlier. By maintaining communication, you keep the social appetite fulfilled. Even though face-to-face interaction can never be beaten by any other, digital means can come quite close to making you feel involved with others.

Divert Your Thoughts

The thought of feeling trapped at your home is not uncommon in these times. But, that thought itself occurs when you have spare time to think about it. The issue with these recurring thoughts is that they distract you from doing the important tasks lined up for the day. When your mind is distracted, feeling unmotivated, lazy, and leaving priority of important work comes right behind it.

The best trick to prevent these distractions is a distraction from these thoughts itself. Stop giving yourself enough time to think about such things. Start getting involved with anything that you did not find time for earlier like reading, writing, painting, etc. All of these distractions will help you stay focused and refreshed.

Heal Your Soul

Another reason for us to feel not so good right now is the fact that our Physical Movement has been restricted due to the lockdown. Even if you were not a gym freak before the lockdown, you had your share of physical movement while traveling to work, going for a walk with friends, or just hanging out with your loved ones. This restriction on physical movement quickly triggers low self-esteem leading to a depressed soul.

You are only confined by space, and not will. If you find yourself questioning your physical health due to the lockdown, it is time you take up some great physical activities that can be done at home itself. 

• Yoga, one of the oldest forms of improving mental and physical strength can be easily accommodated at your home. 
• Meditation is another powerful tool to make your soul heal from the wounds of the COVID-19 chaos.
• Cardio and free exercises can be done without any gym equipment, and help maintain your Body Mass Index too.

Get Some Sun

We all remember from our school textbooks that the sun is a prime provider of Vitamin D. But, the sun is much more than that for us. It helps the human body to maintain a good biological clock. The best example of it is that you might have noticed yourself or people around you missing what day, time, or hour it is. 

The advancement in technology has given us light all day long. But, living 24×7 in that artificial light hinders our biological clock leading to living in the past, inconsistent sleep patterns, and unprecedented eating patterns. The only solution to it is to get some time out in the sun once every day. You can either open a window to let the sunlight come in, or simply go for a small walk during the day, but one dose of the sun in a day is much needed for a healthy mind and body.

Plan Ahead

Did you start lagging behind in your tasks even though you have more time at hand during the lockdown? Then you are a victim of subconscious procrastination. The work from home stress has made a lot of people to work more hours than they did before. It is because of their inability to plan and divide their work life from personal space.

The best way to prevent such incidents is to plan ahead of your schedule. Planning your work, exercise and other tasks at least a day ahead will help for a start. If you succeed in this, you can also extend it to a weekly calendar. This will not only help you sort your work, but will also give you the control of your life. Remember to stick to your planned schedule, or you may end in a bigger mess than before.

Sort Yourself

You are not a superhero. The pandemic that took a toll on the greatest leaders of the world can easily do the same to you too. It is perfectly normal to feel unsorted right now. The only thing you will have to keep as your backbone is the hope to see a future that is normal again, and a will to be the one taking action on it. Make sure you get through these tides to tell a great story of how you survived a pandemic with a smile.