Daily Times

I always felt butterflies in my stomach before entering the examination hall. The night before exam would seem never ending. Even if I did sleep for few hours my subconscious mind used to be fully alert. I was used to feel as if I was half asleep. But once the exam was over, I was as light as a feather.

I think most of you can relate to feeling slightly worried before every important event, specially if it involved some sort of evaluation. You might have felt overwhelmed before a job interview. Some people feel anxious before facing a group of people. May it be in a meeting or stage presentation.

Have you ever noticed that these rather controllable feelings of worry and fear act as energizers and motivators? The anxiety before exam or job interview makes you strive harder.

But if this feeling lingers on and you get up in the morning, feeling worried without any known reason. And these uncomfortable feeling, transition into physical symptoms. This becomes a concern and might start affecting your routine life.

Prolonged lockdown, very limited opportunities for socialization, financial insecurities, fear of getting infected, watching dear ones getting affected by corona virus and disturbing news coming in from all sides. All these factors have made preserving a good mental health a challenge. Those people who are psychologically not that strong, are lonely, sick or lack emotional support are more vulnerable to fall a victim of stress and anxiety.

Those people who are psychologically not that strong, are lonely, sick or lack emotional support are more vulnerable to fall a victim of stress and anxiety

The consequences of psychological problems became more highlighted when we heard about suicide of Shushant Singh Rajpoot. Who allegedly took his life after suffering from mental health issues. The devastated news of two boys taking their lives in two different incidents magnified the alarming situation. There is an invisible mental health pandemic triggering out of unbearable pressures of pandemic.

These days taking care of mental health has become as important as of physical health. Physical exercises such as walking, jogging, stretching and strength training work equally well in maintaining a healthy body and a healthy mind. Try to spare at least thirty minutes daily for brisk walk or any physical exercise. Walking releases neurotransmitters in the body that help in countering stress and anxiety.

Another very effective stress relieving method is meditation. Ashfaq Ahmad was used to call it the process to earth your worries. Standing or laying in a relaxed way and trying to focus on one object or thought is a traditional method of meditation. It helps in relaxing your mind by curbing the free-floating thoughts and connecting with your inner self. There are many free guided relaxation videos available online, you can initially take help from those.

During this lock down we have been able to discover very exciting talents in ourselves. I know of friends who have taken up cooking, backing, refurbishing their kitchen gardens, writing blogs and designing dresses during these pandemic stricken days. Adopting a hobby and keeping your mid busy in productive activities is a time-tested strategy to cope with anxiety and stress. Don’t allow your mind to enter the gloomy and apprehensive mode. Keep it busy in healthy activities and secure your mental health.

This outbreak has affected us all, but few segments of society were hit more badly than others. Look around and you will find people who have lost their jobs. You will come across people finding it difficult to arrange a decent meal for their families. There might be some old aged neighbors, who need help with their shopping. You might know of non-profit organizations in financial crunch due to COVID 19. Try to volunteer your time, services and resource to help those in need. Engaging in welfare activities, working for others and indulging in meaningful activities will get you away from anxiety and stress. Entering meaningfulness in life will show an exit route to tensions.

A rather innovative but effective perspective on anxiety was shared by Dr. Scott Bea. During a podcast he shared that we need to un-learn our panic reaction to anxiety. And re-learn that anxiety is just as normal a feeling as anger and love. Through social learning we have learned that fear and worry should be avoided, suppressed or replaced. We always try to avoid anxiety or try to fix it. Its not anxiety, rather its our panic reaction to it that puts us under a danger alarm. According to him, if you are feeling anxious, don’t fight it. It’s a part of your feeling system, accept it. If you don’t do anything, it will diminish by itself.

We need to learn that psychological problems are as real as diabetes, hypertension or cancer. It is very important to sought professional help if you are facing uncontrolled anxiety and stress. Talk about it. Share your problems with your friends and family members. And take help of psychologists or psychiatrists if these feelings do not subside.

The writer is a Director Programs & Projects at Rising Sun Education & Welfare Society