Enhancing your mental health!
Today we are entering into the 3rd week after The Coronavirus outbreak happened and with the measures to contain it (some preventive isolation) the concern about our health and the unknown about when it’ll be finished, most of us have experienced uncertainty, anxiety and sometimes fear.
Right now more than ever we need to keep in mind that our mental health is very important to cope with the situation and to create a balanced and harmonious reality. I want to share with you some ideas that you can keep in mind to navigate this uncertain period prioritizing your mental health overall.
- Be aware of your emotions: Emotions are the way we connect and disconnect from reality, situations and people, so there is no shame on feeling anxious, overwhelmed, sad, angry or hopeless, it is a normal reaction in this type of uncertain situations. Allow yourself to feel the feeling, find healthy ways to legitimize the feeling like journaling, meditation, talking to someone, exercising and so on. Be mindful that it is just a feeling and needs to be processed, if the sensation remains longer I would recommend you to talk to a specialist about it, sometimes moments of crisis can trigger trapped emotions, patterns or symptoms, be vigilant and check your emotions daily.
- Have a routine: Create a daily routine, focus your energy onto achieving specific things on a daily basis; it could go from organizing your computer’s files to cleaning your house, writing, reading, trying new recipes, etc. Focusing our energy on any achievement is a great way to keep the serotonin working.
- Follow the preventive measures. I know how annoying it could be to write a report about your past trips, temperature being checked on a daily basis, the fact that we need to wear a mask non-stop and in some cases preventive isolation, we aren’t enjoying that, but keep in mind that it is for you, for me and for all of us, when you follow the measures you are contributing to your heath and also to the health of your neighbors, family and colleagues. The spreading of the virus is a fact that we cannot change, but following the measures can make a huge impact in our environment.
- Be active! There are plenty of ways to keep ourselves active, you can use apps to workout or to learn new things, such as a new language for instance (Duolingo app is great and free J), there are plenty of interesting podcasts about pretty much anything; YouTube can be also a great app for learning and there are many yoga studios ad gyms in shanghai offering online classes.
- Read news form a trustworthy source. Don’t overwhelm your mind by reading every single article from every single wechat group, follow official news, focusing on facts, don’t read perceptions, opinions and “what if” type of information; also don’t spend your day reading about it, this can become your main task during the day and it can create unnecessary anxiety and panic.
- Embrace uncertainty. Yes, it is an uncertain time, from our personal aspect to our healthcare and financial situation. This current situation can be challenging for many of us, but worrying, overthinking and imagining the worst-case scenarios will not solve anything nor will create a healthy atmosphere at all. Embrace the situation, as it is, be grateful for your health and focus only on things you can change.
- Connect with people. Connect with friends, colleagues or acquaintances that are still in shanghai, visit them and if you can’t or feel is unsafe plan video chats, share recipes, experiences and have a good chill moment with them. We need social connection to feel nurtured and motivated. You are not alone.
- Dive into yourself: By thought alone we can create our future and generate a huge impact on our daily life. Believe it or not this can be a great opportunity to really deal and face our deepest fears and negative thoughts. This is a great test and a unique moment to reflect on our real priorities, challenges and dreams; you can use your time to subscribe to a free course on mindfulness, do online therapy, read that book that can change your perception and in general focus your energy on shifting those thoughts that are no longer serving you
- Your perception is your choice: Remember that it is up to you on how you’re going to perceive this unique situation, there are facts of course, but there are also hundreds of interpretations, we choose if we want to feel trapped, lonely, panicked and so on… we can also choose to perceive the situation as a great opportunity to readjust ourselves, learn about our emotional reactions and boost our energetic level.
Bibiana Rueda – Bueno is a trained psychologist who has been working in Shanghai for the last 9 years, using tools of Transgenerational Therapy and psychogenealogy. She helps her clients to get connected to their ancestral information and live a healthier, happier life.
Bibiana is here for you, ready to listen, to talk and to share her tools. If you feel you need to talk, to understand and work on certain feelings do not hesitate to contact her, she will offer a 15 minutes free online chat for anyone needing or wanting to share. She is also offering online therapy (reach out to know more about it).
