Maintaining Mental Health of patients and care givers during Pandemic

The current pandemic scenario has made it quite evident that health is our priority and we should try our best to maintain our physical as well as mental health and wellbeing. Currently, Covid-19 has reached our homes, our mind and even ruptured our inner peace. Patients, caregivers as well as acquaintances are facing symptoms of anxiety, depression, losing hope, negative thinking, feeling of helplessness etc. People are losing their loved ones and they are not even getting their fair chance of saying Good bye. Amidst this chaos, Let us divert our attention towards ourselves, and introspect ways and actions which can help us cope in our journey towards healthy survival.

Understanding the A-B-C of mental health wellness, where A stands for affect or emotions, B stands for behaviour, and C stands for our cognitions or thought. These constructs can be used in various ways and situations to check our disturbed emotions, self-harming actions and negative thinking patterns. It is advised that if we are able to regulate and monitor these constructs at our level, we will be able to save ourselves in the long run.

Along with this simple check, below mentioned are few tips to recoup our Mental Health and Wellbeing during these uncertain times:

1. Adopt Healthy Lifestyle (Nutritious diet, Optimum sleep and regular physical exercise) – invest in self care and healthy habits.

2. Focus on Facts instead of rumours- restrict your time in social media apps, check the source of the information before accepting it.

3. Manage uncertainty by staying in the ‘present’ –Look around yourself, focus on what you see, hear and observe around you, breathe in and hold on to present. Over thinking about the future will lead to anxiety and recalling the past may lead to regret, thus, it is important to stay in the present and acknowledge what you have.

4. Engage yourself in Positive Self- Talk and Calm your mind from negative thought- resolve your inner conflicts by listening to your own thoughts and address those negative thoughts through reason and logic.

5. Value yourself and Seek help when required- Value and express gratitude for your existence, appreciate what you have. Do not hesitate from seeking professional medical advice.

6. Find new ways to safely connect with family and friends, and get support- social support act as a booster; it energises our mind and provides us a cushion to fall on whenever we feel low.

7. Unburden your negative thoughts and emotions by crying or sharing your state with others- Catharsis is said to have healing properties. It is always wise to shed your load gain your strength and continue your journey ahead.

8. Have faith in the Almighty- Faith and Our core beliefs guides us in the most troublesome times. Hang on to it, as rightly quoted –

“Faith is to believe what you do not see;

The reward of this faith is to see what you believe”.