Today’s topic would be how to save yourself from mental exhaustion and various stress problems related to lockdown situations caused by Covid-19.
Firstly I would like to say that don’t think about these matters which you can’t control, rather think or focus on those things which you can control.
Another thing I would like to say is that everyone is talking about social distancing but no one is saying against virtual socializing because humans are social creatures. we cannot live without society, we cannot live without each other. Even loneliness can bring depression or other various stress problems to your life. Therefore please do virtual socialization. Now-a-days it’s not that very difficult as technology has reached its best and is still developing every single day. Adding to this, I would like to suggest that if you feel comfortable enough, then please do video calls with your childhood friends or with anyone , with whom you will feel good or happy. Connecting with people is necessary for socialization where face to face image helps a lot better than the usual text messages.
Apart from this, you can utilise this time on Creativity. Give more attention to it. You might ask why is creativity so important at this time? To be honest it helps to develop your brain in a good way and eliminate mental stress. Mainly there are three neural circuits or areas which we will discuss along with this topic.
The first one is Default Mode Network which stays in latent or sleeping state. We do not use this part much because we like to indulge our brain with lots of information according to our busy life schedule. Default mode network is where you do nothing. You just sit quietly. In this particular time, thoughts or ideas generate through Default Mode Network.
The second one is Executive network which helps us to focus, concentrate and pay attention.
Thirdly and lastly, the Salience network which helps us to understand how much we should gain and how much we should lose.
So creativity helps to create a balance among these three networks and reduce mental stress. Therefore, we should focus on some creative work at this point of time. This ideal free time is very necessary for that purpose. Boredom can increase creativity. I Call it “Power of doing nothing”.
Next point would be Meditation. Indulge yourself into meditation. Due to meditation, many physical problems like high blood pressure, diabetes and other stress problems like depression and mentak stress decrease. It helps to grow as well as develops emotional health positively. To get good sleep as well as good hunger. Overall, it provides a good boost up to mental health. I call it Alpha Wave Booster. It has seen that Alpha waves generate on our brain. This Alpha Waves help us to relax and to cool down and reduce mental stress. Meditation helps a lot to generate this Alpha waves.
Besides this , Movement is necessary. Move your body more at this time. Please don’t sit at one place quietly. Walk on the terrace, walk in the garden or walk anywhere else but don’t sit quietly the whole day long. This body movement helps to generate one type of chemical on our brain which is known as BDNF ( brain- derived neurotrophic factor) Which enhances the neural network inside of our brain. There are multiple branches in our brain. More specifically, The Nervous System is full of these branches. The more branches we have, the more we can handle pressure. The less branches we have, the less we can handle pressure or any situation. In that case, we will easily break down emotionally. Therefore, we need to increase the number of branches. The chemical which helps to increase it, that is BDNF which will be created by your movements. I call it the BDNF secrator.
Next, I would like to enlighten some tips on food. Eat power-packed food, not junk food . Eat much,eat less but stop eating before the stomach gets full. try to eat simple food. don’t try to experiment on your food. don’t try to eat exotic food as it is not the correct time to eat. Eat together with your family as it helps to boost up your brain. it increases socialization. I strongly disagree to eat while you are watching TV.
So we have to pay attention to these things. Good sleep is a necessity. Sleep helps in the deep area of our brain deeply in the emotional area where more specifically Amygdala Hippocampus circuit and Judgemental area or this thinking works as a break on emotions and also helps to couple between brake and pedal. It helps to create a connection into the brain. if there is a sleeping problem, then the disconnection or decoupling occurs. If you get a chance to sleep, then please get adequate sleep. This adequate sleep will help to grow mentally.
Moving on to the next point, helping others can also provide a positive effect on your brain. Help each other selflessly in worse time. It helps on two special parts of the brain. One is Ventral Striatum and the other one is Septal Area. I would like to request to remember these two names as these two areas help to control our emotional part positively. It degrows Amygdala Hippocampus circuit or negative emotion along with that part where fear gets created. Those areas get dry gradually and the positive areas like Septal Area, Ventral Striatum increase gradually. Try to help others as the power of helping others has immense benefit.
Listen to good music. There is multiple scientific evidence on music with positive impact. There are two parts of our brain and these two parts are connected through Corpus callosum. This area grows much for musicians. If this area grows then it establishes a good connection between two hemispheres. This increases creativity. Apart from that there are more positive benefits. Auditory areas grow as the auditory process grows. spatial coordination increasing in music. Moreover, there is one kind of hormone which is known as dopamine, also known as a motivational molecule, which is an integral part of the reward system.
So listen to music and again with your family or with your friends as there is a positive benefit as Oxytocin hormone flows into the brain. This Oxytocin hormone is a trust molecule or moral molecule. It increases prosocial behaviour. Read good books as it also has a positive effect. cognitive benefits are there. Try to learn something new, for example coding or learning a new instrument or cooking. As you achieve the goal, as you achieve something new, there is a beautiful feeling that you will experience. This feeling helps to flow dopamine on Brain which provides positive benefits and reduce mental stress.
Indulge yourself into outdoor activities during this lockdown period. Go to the terrace or balcony or Garden where you will get the sunlight. This sunlight provides the Vitamin D3. This vitamin 3 e absorbs calcium and helps to increase the power of bones. It helps to stop depression, moreover serotonin flows. serotonin is a happiness hormone which flows into the brain. I tried my best to simplify all these concepts though these are not that simple. Try to understand in a simple way .
Along with this, if you get a chance, then walk barefoot in the garden. As you touch the ground with your barefoot your brain receives a sensation and this process is known as Sensory Homunculus.For this reason you feel good while walking in the garden with bare feet.
You may indulge yourself into video games , the games which will enhance your brain. More specifically the cognitive enhancing should be happening by playing these games. Of course You should get interested in it.
At this point, Philosophize your life. You can bring some philosophical thoughts in your mind at this time. This might sound much theoretical but it has some positive effects. I call it a consciousness booster. Many people say it as a sense of self-control regainer. I would suggest you to read a book named “Meditation” written by Marcus Aurelius. You might like it. Watch old movies, new movies, or the films You would like to watch.
Finally, I have Said repeatedly and will say again that please do follow the Covid-19 news diet. Follow the best diet chart. don’t watch news channels more than twice. Take rest from collecting information regarding Covid-19. Try to read news from reliable sources. Do not think WhatsApp or Facebook as reliable sources. According to me, the reliable sources would be CDC ( centre for disease Control), MOHFW ( ministry of Health and Family Welfare) and obviously WHO(World Health Organisation). Don’t indulge yourself into the news channels more than twice because if you are a vulnerable person it will keep away from the mental stress related problems. But, if you are more vulnerable or unbearable with the situation then I will suggest to contact your nearest mental health professionals psychiatrist or psychologist.
Thank you!!