We are going through an unknown time right now. Life as we know it has halted and the way things operated has halted. How do we navigate these times and get through to the other side? This is a question that I am struggling with as well.
However, these are some habits that I am continuing or restarting during this time to help me keep my sanity:
- Be grateful-gratitude and appreciation for what you have is shown to improve your mood and relieve anxiety and stress. By reducing our anxiety and stress, we give our immune system a boost. A great way to show gratitude is simply to write down three things that you are grateful for every morning. It can be something as simple as being grateful for having clothes to wear, or it can be specific as to explaining how you are grateful for how the clothes you wear makes you feel good. Either way find a few things that you are grateful for having.
- Mindful meditation. Being able to control the responses you have towards your own thoughts is huge during anxious times. The point of mindful meditation is not to control our anger, fear or anxiety, but to be able to observe those emotions and thoughts and to let them pass and not let them control our day. This type of practice is not easy at first, but once you get the hang of it the benefits are great. Please keep in mind, that there is not right or wrong way to meditate, so please don’t beat yourself up if you feel like your doing it wrong. The only basis of mindful meditation is becoming aware of your thoughts and emotions and how they affect your soul. I utilize an app called 10% happier, there are others out there, I do believe headspace is doing free memberships for the rest of the year.
- Finally, limit your news/social media consumption and instead move your body. The news is great for important information, but if your not careful you can get sucked into a time warp that causes increase fear and anxiety. Instead mindlessly watching and scrolling, use that time to get up and move around your house and get your heart rate up through exercises. There are simple body weight works outs that everyone can do to help your burn off energy. Not only will you be burning off energy, you are building muscle and creating a healthy habit. Try this simple circuit: 30 seconds of body squats, 10 second rest, 30 seconds of plank 10 second rest, 30 seconds of burpees/pushups 10 seconds of rest-repeat this 3-5 times. This will get your heart rate pumping and lower nervous energy.
These are some tips that I am following to help me navigate these troubled times. I hope you find them useful.