The nation will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day tomorrow, August 15, 2021. On this day, we got freedom from British rule in India and it is a day of immense significance for us. Freedom is the power or right to do what you want without anyone stopping you, as per Oxford dictionary. When this power is snatched from us due to some reason, we feel trapped or stressed. Difficult situations in life that seem out of control may make us feel that way.
Coronavirus pandemic has made stress a constant in our lives. Freeing your mind from stress is a choice that one must make every day irrespective of the situation. If there is any resolution you should take on 75th Independence Day, it must be to say no to stress or free your mind from it.
1. Prioritise right
Over the time, if stress keeps getting accumulated, it plays havoc with our health. It’s better to nip it in the bud. Do things that are urgent and leave those that are not so important and burdening you unnecessarily. Prioritising right can take away a lot of stress that is the need of the hour.
“A lot of time we neglect our stress till the time it starts affecting us. We should address it when it is at a preventive stage. The first strategy to deal with it is to avoid stress that is not important for you,” says Dr. Arushi Malik, Counselling Psychologist, Kaleidoscope – a unit of Dr. Bakshi’s Healthcare.
2. Set your boundaries
Sometimes we think avoiding or saying no is a bad thing. But to take care and manage your stress, it is important to say no when it gets too much. “Human mind has this capability that it adapts to the situation around. One must try to overcome the thing that is stressing you out in a healthy manner. Acknowledge stress in its early stages and try to work around it,” advises Dr. Malik.
She also adds that in pandemic times, there are some things that are under our control and those that are not. “It’s important to accept the way certain things are and adapt to them accordingly,” she adds.
3. Seek help
Most importantly, do not shy away in connecting with others and seeking help. If the stress is getting unmanageable and seeping into other domains of life and impacting relationships with others, it is okay to talk about it. One must not isolate self and instead of virtual world, connect with the real world, according to Dr. Malik.
4. Do activities to soothe your mind
A lot of times it happens that stress makes you very fidgety and you are not able to focus on the task at hand.
It happens because our brain imagines the worst-case scenario. We get very jumpy and don’t focus on the moment.
Doing activities that get your composure back can be very helpful. “Doing zentangle is a fun way to draw patterns and the process is quite soothing to mind. Mandala books or colouring books for adults are also becoming popular and are very effective in soothing your mind and managing your stress,” says Dr. Malik.
These activities allow us to focus on the present moment and realise that things are not that stressful and can be managed.
5. Eating healthy and doing physical activities
Good nutrition and intake of balanced diet is important for mental health. Green leafy vegetables, fresh and seasonal fruits, nuts & legumes are rich in vitamins, anti-oxidants and other essential nutrients that help in repairing body cells and protect our brain. Brisk walking or any sort of physical activity help in alleviating symptoms of anxiety, depression, social withdrawal etc.
So this Independence Day, let’s take a resolve to kick out stress from our life and breathe.
source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/