"I am scared to watch the news when I wake up in the Morning now-a-days"
With almost everything going wrong around us we are facing a "Mental Health Pandemic" too, because if the lockdown effects weren't enough, now we are seeing riots happening in the States creating a ripple effect in our country too.
What's happening outside is affecting us tremendously on the inside , especially now, because mentally we all are exhausted & tired. We are living in uncertain times and this is slowly killing us and our internal resources to fight the stress.
A few days back when a celebrated Indian actor took his own life, it exploded on social media.
People were experiencing it as their personal loss. It made everyone think , how important is Mental Health and that anyone can fall victim to Depression & Anxiety
So, will it take some one taking their life to really see the silent monster that depression is ?
I hope not ! because we need to have a better mental health now ,more than ever ,to fight the everyday stress. So how can we do that ?
Here are a few things you can do when you feel overwhelmed by stress.
Check in with yourself :
Ask yourself questions like -
a) How do I feel right now ?
b) Am I able to express what I am feeling right now ?
c) Can I reach out to my loved ones?
d) If I am experiencing Anger , what am I really angry about ? Do I really feel angry, or helpless?
e) Am I in Sync with my body ? Where do I feel this strong emotion in my body ?
f) Why do I feel heavy in my chest ? Am I anxious about something?
g) What can I do right now to reduce my anxiety ?
h) What are my triggers or buttons which induce anxiety ?
2. Acknowledge how you feel :
When you feel overwhelmed & confused, take a moment to pause and reflect on how you are feeling. Put a name to your feeling and do a full body scan mentally to know where in your body you feel this emotion strongly. Eg : It could be in your 'gut' ,'chest' or your 'head'!
Eg : " I just shouted on my maid, was I really angry with her ? or am I upset about something else that happened last night with my husband which is making me feel sad?"
" I feel this emotion strongly in my chest, I feel heavy there"
Know that many times when we ignore our true feelings, they come in forms of hostile anger or bouts of crying, making us wonder why we behaved the way we did ,in the stressful situation.
Once you have recognised your true feeling, be with it. Allow yourself to feel it fully.
3. De-Clutter
When I say De-clutter, I not only refer to your physical space but also your mental space.
Throw out the things and ideas you don't need. Unfollow the people/pages who are not helping you grow in any way on Instagram. If you feel overwhelmed by looking at their posts , it's not worth following them mindlessly.
Be mindful of the content you consume on social media, don't let it consume you instead.
Fill your mind with helpful content which motivates you and moves you.
De-clutter the people also who are toxic in your life.
Make space for things which are full of life, Eg : pets, plants & people instead of inanimate things like cellphones , TV and Laptop, because when you are surrounded by things full of life , You Grow. Being 24*7 around lifeless things makes you Stagnant both mentally & physically.
4. Watch how you talk to yourself
We never realise how negatively we talk to ourself and let our Inner Critic navigate our life experiences. We need to acknowledge that this inner critic exists and fight it by taking up a more compassionate way to talk to ourself.
Eg , " I am so Stupid I can't even get this right"
Say this instead " What I did was Stupid let me see what I can do about this?"
The sad and untimely passing away of Sushant singh rajput is a wake up call and it has made us realise that our ideas of success and mental well being are dumb founded. We need to hit the RE-SET button. Pause for a second & look at what truly matters to us,not what we've been fed from the world outside. It's time to breakthrough!
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