During this time of lock-downs, quarantines, and all around uncertainties, it can be easy to let your mind wander to the worst. For many people, their daily routines were the things that kept them mentally stable throughout the day. However, with that having been taken away from all of us, we fall back into previous bad habits. Not only this, but people have family members being affected by this illness, and seniors are having their graduations and proms taken away from them. It is important that no matter the degree of impact this has on your life, you always have a right to grieve what you have lost. Do not let anyone make you feel as if your feelings are not valid. And yes, you can take time and be upset, yet, do not let this take over your life. This is a chance to grow from these experiences.
There are many things that you can do, while practicing social distancing, that can help you ease your mind from the pain you may be feeling right now. First, physical activity; it doesn't always have to be strenuous workouts, it can be as simple as following a 20 minute yoga video, or taking your dog on a long walk. Just something that will get your body moving and out of a ruck. Another helpful thing to calm yourself down if you are feeling anxious or overwhelmed is arts and crafts. Order an activity that you think you would enjoy on amazon or look up fun DIY's on YouTube. Most importantly keep in touch with people. At this point you might be wanting to rip you hair out from being around your family so much. Facetime your friends! Although it will never compare to being with them in person, just talking to them can help distract you, or help you work through some of the emotions you have been feeling.
Throughout years of dealing with anxiety, and watching others deal with it, one of the most calming things to do while managing symptoms, is listen to music. In fact, this is actually something that is scientifically proven to reduce panic attacks and their severity. It soothes and reduces the pain that you may be feeling, and can be seen as a distraction from what you are going through. So for this blog I am going to share some music that has helped in the past.
Personally, I listen to many different genres of music so hopefully you can find something that you enjoy along the way. Typically if I am upset, I'll listen to upbeat music, with more of a pop melody to get my mood up. This would include, Quinn XCII, AJR, Jeremy Zucker and Jon Bellion. All of these artists have a different sound but for me I always find it giving me a euphoric feeling.
Now sometimes you have to let yourself be upset, and understand that is is okay to feel the emotions you are going through, and that is completely alright. For times like these I stick to more mellow music that helps calm me down, but allows me to express how I feel. Whenever this happens I will listen to Mumford and Sons, the Lumineers, Zac Brown Band and Vance Joy. They all have music that can put you in a happy mood, but they also have many slowed down songs that have somewhat of a nostalgic feel.
No matter where you are, at home, in the car, at work (if possible) it is always helpful to just plug in and listen to music o help relieve some pain if you feel stress coming on. Many artists also deal with mental health issues and hope that their music can help others, so hopefully it can help you too.
While we are in quarantine it may seem to some people like now is the time to do whatever you want with no repercussions. People are not working out , sleeping in late, or going to sleep in the A.M.Yes, they’re correct in the sense that it won’t affect their typical daily routine, because at the moment there is no routine to interrupt. It is deeply affecting your mental health. Many may not realize it now, but it is completely discombobulating your circadian rhythm.
When your circadian rhythm is not properly adjusted your mental health is at risk of many negative effects. Scientists have seen a decrease in motivation,and an increase in depression, anxiety. Not only that but these bad habits can then lead to insomnia, and a list of other sleeping disorders. Basically what I am trying to say is that just harmlessly thinking that staying up until two to three in the morning every night binge watching a show, or watching you tube videos, can play a serious role in your mental health and overall well being.
If you are struggling with falling asleep at night from restlessly worrying about the events of today's life, there are many things that can help you. Instead of automatically resorting to medication you can first try natural ways. What I have done recently is turn my phone off an hour before i go to sleep, and then I color, or read a book. These things help relax your brain and by decreasing blue light before you go to sleep it will help you fall asleep faster. If this doesn't work for you, then take melatonin. Melatonin is the natural chemical in your brain that is released when you fall asleep. If you take ½ of a tablet it is more likely to work.
For this blog I want to talk about something extremely important while struggling with your mental health. That is ways to cope with anxiety attacks or panic attacks. Sometimes it can feel as if your throat is closing in on you, or you cannot move. Many people experience these sensations and it is extremely important to know you are not alone. There are many different ways to bring yourself down from moments like this.
One of the most important things is to recognize that what you are experiencing is a panic attack. This will help you know that feelings come and go, and allow you to recognize that this feeling is manageable. Many times when going through one and having recognized what is is, just simple concentration can stop the symptoms. If that in itself does not help symptoms subside, another great technique that often helps me is deep breathing. Something important to know about deep breathing is that when you inhale through your nose, allow your abdomen to fill with air. Then on your exhale your stomach should go down. Practicing deep breathing when you are just sitting there with nothing to do, will help you calm yourself down faster when you are experiencing panic attacks.
Lastly, take yourself out of the situation. If you can recognize the trigger that caused the onset, take yourself away. Let's say you are at a party and suddenly feel shaky, go outside and take deep breaths. Allow yourself to fully calm down, and if you cannot seem to then go somewhere you feel safe such as your house.
Overall it is important to know that you should never be ashamed of what you are going through. These are extremely common and you should know how to help yourself through these that way you can decrease the amount of attacks you have. Your mental health is something you should never be scared to talk about. That is the best way to help yourself through it.
Recently over the past few months I personally feel as if I have been noticing a spike of negativity regarding body image and personal failings on social media. Throughout the past century, scientists have seen a clear spike between depression, and issues with mental health and social media. This has not in the slightest bit gone unnoticed. For right now however I am going to zoom in on Tik-Tok. This app in the beginning seemed to be a fun little app where people would post videos of themselves dancing, or just funny videos of their friends. However, it seems as if more recently people are using this app to pick themselves apart and compare themselves to others. On my specific For You Page, I constantly see dancing videos, many of girls wearing tight, revealing dresses, or bikinis. A common theme I see on these videos are girls, maybe 15, or even 20 commenting “i'm not eating today”, “If I looked like this I would love myself”. It's almost like it's a trend to be so harsh on yourself. It has turned into an extremely toxic environment.
And like I said before, studies have linked depression, and body dysmorphia, as well as many other mental health disorders to social media. There is a clear correlation. In my opinion, I feel like the point I want to make in this blog, is people need to put down social media, and go out and live. Learn to love yourself. It is very disappointing seeing all of these amazing people being so harsh on themselves due to society's standards of what “beautiful” is. If you or anyone you know believes that they are not good enough, delete social media! Yes, that may not seem so easy, but in reality, a lot of what social media is, is a comparison game. There are many positives, but if your life the cons are outweighing the pros, do not be ashamed to deactivate your accounts for a little. Everyone needs to do it at some point in their lives or another.