What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, like a worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. Everyone feels anxious from time to time and it usually passes once the situation is over.
It can make our heart race, we might feel sweaty, shaky or short of breath. Anxiety can also cause changes in our behaviour, such as becoming overly careful or avoiding things that trigger anxiety. You can see pages on : check out this link on how to manage stress mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/about-anxiety/
When anxiety becomes a problem, our worries can be out of proportion with relatively harmless situations. It can feel more intense or overwhelming, and interfere with our everyday lives and relationships.
The Corona Virus is bringing unprecedented feeling of anxiety unless when you are not paying attention to the world events and not mindfully in full control of your life.
While feelings of stress and anxiety ( adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/watching-news-making-your-anxiety-worse-tips) are a completely normal response to our unusual and unprecedented circumstances, it’s important we try and curb the impact it’s having on us both emotionally and physically. Stress can cause an excess of the hormone cortisol in our bodies, which increases our vulnerability to depression. It also shrinks our synapses, making us less able to think clearly and work productively. Meanwhile the anxiety chemical adrenaline has been shown to have an adverse effect on our immune system – the very last thing anyone needs, at the moment.
Avoid Unnecessary news
Try to avoid speculation and get your sources of news from reputable sources, do not seek for second information and opinions from non-verified sources. Fake news travels faster than real news and will fuel your anxiety, stay in control, follow good hygiene practice like regularly washing hands, even considering moving with your own disinfectant in your travel bag can save you a lot of burden and save you from getting infections from public places.
The situation with Covid-19 changes daily and we naturally you want to stay on top of the latest developments and advice ( www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-53640964). Unfortunately, even if the news you’re accessing is from a reputable source hearing it over and over again is going to increase your anxiety. Pick an outlet you trust and check in once or twice per day.
Great to talk to friends you trust about how you are feeling, this will put things into perspective in your friends and family and bring positivity about the uncertain future.
Use all the social media available to talk to friends like Facebook, Skype, Google hangouts, WhatsApp and many more out there, this are all free when you are on Wi-Fi and most places have public free Wi-Fi.
Community work
Whether it’s calling to check in on an elderly relative or texting your neighbour to ask if they want something when you venture out to the food shop, contributing positively to the community not only has a positive impact on others, but has also been shown in numerous studies to increase our own wellbeing.
Please do not pimp fear into others, this will later not turn out well for yourself, talk positively and don’t drive scare into others, if you are anxious this will be contagious to people around you and will have a negative impact to the society and family.
Are you expecting a big change from lock down?
Across the nation of the UK, lock down will easing soon but do not be over excited to storm out and free fall into the community, this might spread the virus as the virus is still around us and is here to stay, we are faced with challenges and opportunities to thrive.
Keep the social distancing and masks as before and do not let down your guard as this will continue protecting your wellness and health.
Some people at risk of getting the virus more than others but this does not mean you can’t get it, it may react differently from you to next person, best solution is to keep away from contacting non households.
Boost your immunity
Vitamin D is necessary for the proper functioning of your immune system, which is your body’s first line of defence against infection and disease.
This vitamin plays a critical role in promoting immune response. It has both anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory (https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system).
Vitamin D is known to enhance the function of immune cells, including T-cells and macrophages, that protect your body against pathogens.
In fact, the vitamin is so important for immune function that low levels of vitamin D have been associated with an increased susceptibility to infection, disease, and immune-related disorders.
For example, low vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of respiratory diseases, including tuberculosis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as viral and bacterial respiratory infection
Tune into your body
Set yourself a routine and tune into your body’s circadian rhythms. Sleeping too much or too little can both disrupt mental wellbeing. If you’re having difficulty drifting off, try doing something before bed that uses your imagination, like writing a story or visualising events or tasks. The imagination is the doorway between conscious and unconscious thought and this should help you feel sleepy.
Pay close attention to how you are feeling, track your moods and strive to improve your emotional health. It can help to keep a routine so that you don’t feel grounded or hitting rock bottom due to uncertain future. Make a good diet your priority, get plenty of exercise and sleep.
Exercise to perform out
- Perform Burpees it is hard work but work the whole body for 30 sec and rest 2 min
- Jumping Jacks for 30 seconds and rest for 2min before next exercise
- Half Push ups for beginners and full for others for 1min rest 2min
- Perform plank for 1min and rest 2 min before next exercise
- Hold in a push up position for 30 sec and rest 2min repeat times 3
- Dance to any music to your content, you will burn more calories
- Lunges in one place, change legs as you perform for 1 min and rest 2 min
Do not miss your exercise routine and stick to a program of either a walk or a jog and perform a few stretches and elementary core exercises to keep up with muscle atrophy
- Cleaning can be an alternative way to burn calories
- YouTube Workouts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjmQVMLhNT4)
There are a lot of workout routines on YouTube. You can search “workout,” or you can search by the specific type of workout that you would like - Sometimes do something simple like controlled breathing, can help you feel calmer
time out to practice mindfulness:
Everything is changing quickly at the moment and constant news updates can make it hard to switch off. Going for a quick walk every day is actively encouraged under the current lockdown measures. Stepping out of the house to go for a short walk can help you to put everything into perspective and help you to feel calmer. Additionally, apps like Calm are a great way to help you to relax, meditate, improve your mental health and feel better over time.
Potential befits of mindfulness are huge and wide-ranging. Some people for example may benefit most from a greater connection with their body, while others get the most benefit from learning how to deal with troublesome thoughts.
