Mental Stability During Pandemic
I lost a friend to COVID today !
She was a Director, colleague where I work, personally have learned a lot from her on leadership traits. It is really difficult to imagine that she is not with us anymore.
I think it is important to gather our mental strength and regain stability if we were to get through this one. Many organizations have opened up teleconsultations with psychologists and it is important to utilize them as you see fit.
If you're a typical strong person, you may not need it. Instead, you should focus on creating something different that forces your brain to think about something different. Like writing a blog. You need to gather ideas and put in your perspectives and be helpful to someone else too.
Kindle your creativity - During the pandemic, I heard the disturbing news of loss and I then decided to focus on something that needs my energy to be spent on something that would keep me engaged. I started cleaning my house and rearranging furniture. It was a great relief, I was able to throw away a bunch load of stuff from my house and it looked like I hadn't done cleaning for the last 10 years or so. Every weekend my wife and I started engaging in this activity and still do...
Unplug yourself from News Media - I found this very useful. You only need the headlines and nuances of what difficulties our country is going through. You don't need a personal grieving story to be read to you every day! AFAIK, that only makes you sick and down most of the time. So un-plug yourselves from the news. They have a magical way of getting to you considering the number of electronic devices that we use today.
Engage in Family Time - I honestly believe, pandemic or not, you need to have this in today's digital age. Almost everyone is spending their time in front of one or the other screen. It has a sicker impact on your brain.
We have a couple of rules at home.
1. On weekends, all of us have our lunches together at the dining table. Helps us bring us all together and have a good laugh. Some times at the expense of my wife's cooking skills :-)
2. Weekend Movie Time - we watch two movies as a family together, one each day. Either in the Living room or the bedroom. This is where we indulge in a lot of dialogue about movie selection. My kids are 16 and 12, so their choices are different than ours. But we win either way.
Learn something new - This is an excellent choice if you are a continuous learner. There are dozens of quality sites offering lessons ranging from personality development to tech. Coursera, Udemy, MIT, etc are the ones I find very interesting to gather some technical skills along the way for me. This exercise to your mind keeps you relevant to your skills. Get that piano skills you always wanted to master or photography or start cooking. Choices are numerous!
Exercise your body - Mind follows your body. Your mental stability depends on how fit you are. Plan on removing those love handles, by remaining inside your home of course. A fit body doesn't need to be of Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you regularly move all your muscles, you'll be fit. And, if you are fit, your mind will work better and battle the conditions better. Flex your muscles folks.
Start Reading - While I used to read a lot when I was in my adolescence, I have to admit that I don't do that good job nowadays. I started reading again. I have a kindle and all of us at home read their choice of books in it. We have set timings for different folks and it works pretty well. I read in the night, right before bedtime. It helps to sleep better. My younger one is fond of 'Dork Diaries'. Elder one rather reads horror and fiction. I read Malayalam (my native language) and English fiction and non-fiction alike. My wife likes to read spiritual stuff and Zen mode books.
There... these 6 tips don't need a lot of planning and you could start implementing them right away.
Stay safe and be stable.
Peace...
