I did not think much about the mental health situation at the very beginning when all the chaotic events just started to happen. I was just keeping myself updated about all the news that was releasing from all available medias. I was studying more about the virus, I was reading the stories and news about the spread of the virus. I was reading from authentic sites and also some unauthentic sites that I even wasn’t noticing that could be fake and trying to figure out what could happen in the upcoming days. I was going through both religious and scientific aspects. I was totally lost in this virus situation because I was actually pretty much staying home most days of the week even before the whole world has gone quarantined. Last one and half year I have been working from home except attending few training sessions. So I totally understand that I was having enough time to think about all necessary and unnecessary things altogether. Finally I realized that my mental health is getting affected and that is having a huge impact on my physical health.

I know I am not the only one affected mentally by this situation but almost everyone is affected. Some are more affected than others. Some of us may have already realized and some will later. So I think I really need to share my thoughts and create awareness about this major topic. I am not writing it from a physicians view but from my own experience. Definitely I am getting better each day ever since I have realized where I have been stuck and working on it to improve the situation towards healthier lifestyle. I just want to share some tips that is going to make anyone feel better when everything that is happening around is just not right.

First of all we should not watch news all day long. Just watching 15 to 20 minutes a day to keep ourself updated is good enough. Watch the authentic news only. Watching the same thing from all different channels actually will make a person sick at the end of the day. May be we do not feel sick right away but gradually it does. So watching something else instead will keep our mind healthy, it could be a movie or a travel video. Some cooking shows are really therapeutic in my opinion. Basically we can watch anything that give us peace of mind.

Many YouTube channels make videos in difficult times just to increase their views and take advantage of the situation with false informations or may be partially correct informations but in a dramatic way with lot more assumptions that easily creates negative impact in our mind. We need to avoid all those videos that try to create unnecessary anxiety. If possible we better block those channels so they don’t just randomly pop up.

In general it is always good to start the morning with a glass of lukewarm water for enough hydration throughout the day. Recently I am adding lemon juice, a piece of lemon, ginger sometimes mint in my morning drink and that gives me a lot more energy. It is actually a healthy habit and benefits our health in various ways in long term. I prefer having my morning drink standing in my balcony or near the window so that I can get some sunshine as well.

It is actually a need to talk to a friend or family who is a sweetheart and surely is going to listen about our stress situation. We should call that person over phone who is going to say something positive that will make our day peaceful.

Engaging with something that we love doing like painting, cooking, filming or cleaning our closet that usually we barely can make time to do properly is also a great way to divert our mind for some parts of the day.

Self pampering helps a lot. Applying some face pack, taking care of hands and feet, soaking feet in lukewarm water are great ways to relief stress.

We should not forget to listen to soothing happy music. Listening to music while cleaning and cooking provides a lot energy, in my opinion.

Reading our favourite story book , writing a blog post, Reading any knowledgeable article online can provide some relaxed time before going to bed. I love working on my blog at night while grabbing a warm drink.

As a muslim I feel like praying gives me the level of peace that is not comparable to anything else. We should pray with concentration all the time but now when we need it the most we should do it more regularly than ever before and obviously continue in the same way even when the situation gets better.

I am sure by now we all know the specific measures that we need to take in this virus situation that we are having right now. Washing hands, overall cleaning , social distancing etc are already something that we all are maintaining and I believe that is all we can do. To boost our immune system a healthy diet has no alternative. We must not forget to keep ourself physically active during this time even when we are at home. When we are done with our part , the rest we can do is pray and relax because the things that we cannot change has no benefit from worries.

I forgot to mention that even though we need to eat healthy mostly but sometime we can have a break and enjoy our favourite food in moderate amount.

Before going to bed at night just have a good family time as most of us are home now so better enjoy this time rather than worrying about future all the time. I am not telling you to deep dive in the sand burying your head and stay away completely from the current situation but do not get too involved mentally that harms you physically in long term.

I hope and pray that this situation gets better soon and we can go back to our normal activity being a better person. Obviously I am learning a lot from this situation and I believe we all are.

Stay safe and healthy.

Love

Sadia