The coronavirus (Covit-19), spreading all over the world, threatens our mental health as well as our physical health. Due to the pandemic, some of us stay at home by following the “stay at home” call, some of us go out for work or other reasons. But we all have a common concern: “Our Health” and “Our Life”.
When the difficulties of staying at home, social isolation, economic difficulties due to loss of work and power, and uncertainties about the future are added to these, the level of stress increases even more.
Not everyone will be affected by the stress at the same rate, and everyone’s reactions will not be the same. But some groups are more sensitive to stress; elderly people due to other illnesses and social isolation, health workers who have to be in direct contact with the virus, or those who have to deal with many people because they have to work outside, or have to work in close contact with other people in small areas, have a previous chronic physical or Those with psychiatric diseases are weaker and more intolerant to stress.
Sometimes it is difficult to adapt to innovations and changes. People who can adapt to changes will have less stress levels. For this reason, it is necessary to learn to adapt to these changes in order to reduce stress and to develop some coping methods to achieve this harmony.
What We Can Do to Cope With Stress
- Awareness of Stress Symptoms
Stress has both physical and mental effects.
Mental effects; decrease in concentration level, impaired attention, difficulty in making decisions, forgetfulness. In addition, excessive irritability, anger, and frequent crying and withdrawal behaviors can be seen.
Bodily effects; We can list changes in sleep and eating patterns, headaches, stomach ailments, muscle contractions or aches, and fatigue.
In addition, anxiety and insecurity about the virus, feeling powerless in the face of events and feeling anxious due to this feeling of insecurity and weakness can also appear as signs of stress.
Due to our changing lifestyle, all the stress symptoms we have listed can be considered normal for this period. In fact, even if we were not aware of it, we had a regular lifestyle that we were used to and we knew what to do. Now, whether we stay at home or go to work, we need to create a new lifestyle and create new routines.
- Trying to Understand Our Feelings
It is perfectly normal for us to feel anxiety, worry, fear, and sadness. Instead of avoiding these emotions or trying to get rid of them right away, we must first allow ourselves to accept and feel our emotions.
3.Using Different Coping Methods
Everyone uses different methods to deal with stress. Therefore, it may be meaningful to be aware of different methods and to try them;
Limiting the use of social media
Media and social media monitoring regarding the pandemic should be restricted. Constantly trying to get information about this issue increases our stress level even if we are not aware of it. Therefore, a time limit must be imposed on this issue. Just restricting time is not enough. At the same time, you need to determine what you will follow, where and how you will get the information. Because in this period, many conspiracy theories, false news, scary news are published in the same way. Therefore, to keep your stress under control, it is necessary to find the right resources and only follow them.
– Expressing emotions
Emotions are very important in dealing with stress. Expression of our emotions and their correct transmission reduces the level of stress. For this reason, you should share your feelings with people you trust and love. If you can’t share them with anyone, you can write. Sometimes writing emotions is also an effective method of reducing stress.
– Humor and laughter
Spending some of your time into movies, videos, and books that can make you laugh, joking with your friends, following some humor publications are among the methods that will help you cope with stress.
Physical activities
Staying at home due to the pandemic limited our activities. However, physical activities are very effective in reducing stress. For this reason, you need to create activities that you can do at home. If “I don’t like sports, I can’t follow activities like this.” If you say you can dance accompanied by a music.
Disruption of sleep and meal patterns causes further stress. For this reason, you need to maintain your sleep and meal patterns as much as possible by creating a routine. Also, “I’m home anyway, I’ll sleep as long as you want.” It is very important to choose the time well. Likewise, it will be helpful in reducing stress in not making choices such as eating too much or not eating at all.