Currently, amidst this stressful pandemic, many people are having to compromise both their quality of life and their mental health. The constant anxiety around community transmission and social distancing guidelines have caused understandably heightened anxiety. The only way to overcome this stress is by deliberately staying positive and practicing activities that reduce stress and anxiety.
Ram Duriseti on productive activities
A positive mindset can effectively change the lens through which you look at life. For instance, many people feel frustrated with stay-at-home orders. When you think positively, you realize this situation might actually be an opportunity to relax, work flexibly, save money, and discover a new hobby that you didn’t know you enjoyed. According to Ram Duriseti, when you live life with a positive attitude, your mind can filter out the barrage of anxiety-provoking thoughts to focus on what you have to be grateful for. A few positive lifestyle and wellness practices to follow during the pandemic include:
- Reduce your screen time from television and social media. Also, instead of consuming news updates every hour, check the news once every few days to prevent unnecessary panic.
- Contextualize your experience. Even though COVID-19 is a large-scale pandemic, it is not the only crisis that humans have faced. Think about, and call on, your past resilience and strength you exhibited in previously stressful situations.
- Start managing your finances and spend sparingly. It is essential to differentiate between need and want in order to add more to your savings.
- Use the extra time you have at hand efficiently by indulging in productive activities. You can clean your house, spend time with your family members, cook for your family, discover a new hobby, start blogging, practice meditation, and more. Anything that helps you to relax is a useful activity.
- Try to exercise at home with activities like pilates, yoga, and aerobics to help you relax, stay fit, and maintain your wellness.
- Watch romantic comedies and humorous shows online. Watching a light-hearted film will allow you to relax and unwind, which can reduce stress hormones while offering comfort and solace.
- Donate old clothes and excess food to a local charity or an NGO. By doing so, you contribute towards a legitimate need, and you complete an action that feels fulfilling.
- Even though you can’t travel freely now, you can use this time to plan a trip to a future COVID-19 free world. For this, you can do research and decide on ways to save money during travel. Use this time to figure out what your bucket-list destinations are.
- You can do some inventory control at home. Check devices and old equipment that you use anymore and sell them. It will help to keep your home clutter-free while giving you some spare money to spend.
With a positive mindset, you can look at quarantine and lockdown from a new lens. You can use the time you have now to train your mind to think positively in order to break the cycle of negative thoughts and habits.