When the pandemic struck, we had no idea how serious it was. When the lockdown was imposed, we thought it would be just a few weeks, some months at most. A year later, we have gone through several notable changes as a society, and these changes are not only about work or school. Great changes are felt within homes, too.
Having to stay at home for long periods, many people have started to feel familiar feelings of cabin fever. Though this time, it’s felt through months longer than winter. Individuals may feel irritable and often not in the mood to be around others. The lack of social stimulus combined with the constant fear of the virus is a huge stress factor that brings our health.
Your Mental State Matters
Many stressors affect our wellbeing throughout this pandemic, like the sudden changes in routine or the sudden complete lack thereof, the near non-existent boundaries of work and home life, and not being able to socialize while at the same time having to spend all hours of all days with the same people inside the house.
You might be feeling somewhat restless and hopeless during this whole ordeal, and you might be thinking that there is little to nothing you can do to make yourself feel better. While there are many ways to alleviate your feelings of tiredness and despair, one thing you might not have done is to actually acknowledge your feelings. To address and act on our problems, we first need to recognize that they exist.
Have Time For Yourself
Being caught up in the new normal and juggling tasks at work while cooking lunch or helping children in the house do homework while trying to answer a work email, people barely have time for themselves. The one-hour commute to and from work where we are allowed to “zone out” the outside world and focus on just resting and doing nothing is now replaced by the constant presence of family members 24/7.
There is no denying that we need to reclaim our “me time.” Communicate this with the people in your house and allow for a calm conversation about having time in the day to rest and not be overstimulated. To do this, start small. Take five minutes and move away from everyone. This can be done in your most opportune time, like making coffee in the morning.
Exercise Boosts Your Happy Hormones
No exercise doesn’t have to be about weightlifting or running laps, at least not right now in this pandemic. It’s already hard to get a good night’s sleep and wake up without hissing at the sun as it is, so exerting the extra physical energy to exercise might seem too much for many of us. But exercise can be called incidental exercise, which means making the conscious effort to move around and do physical activities within your daily routine to avoid a sedentary lifestyle.
However if you are determined to incorporate an exercise routine into your daily schedule but find it hard to commit, there are several steps you can take to get the ball rolling.
Have a Skin Care Routine
Staying at home for too long does not only affect our mood and muscles. Our skin also takes the brunt of it for various reasons. For one, the dry air can aggravate already existing skin problems we may have. Stress is also a major contributor as we may be mindlessly picking on our skin and developing acne from it.
Speaking of acne, you may have already heard of the term “maskne.” That is, acne and skin irritation developed due to wearing masks. To combat this, experts advise that we moisturize before and after wearing our masks. Another solution is to avoid wearing too much makeup under the mask, as it might be clogging the pores. And if these prove ineffective, seek professional help for skin treatments specific to your needs.
Don’t Let Yourself Be Comfortable With Social Isolation!
That’s right, don’t let yourself cozy up to the idea of not having to socialize with others! Especially for people who suffer from anxiety, not having to confront their social fears has positively affected their mental state. But as businesses are slowly reopening and lockdowns being lifted, it’s inevitable for all of us to eventually go back outside and face the world. We still need to have the social batteries and mental fortitude needed to coexist with others in this very much social society.
