Is COVID-Anxiety Ruining Your Aspirations?

Does this situation sound familiar to you? Many children across the country are losing their precious childhood years staying indoors. COVID-19 brought before us a not-seen-before situation. In this, children got confined to their homes and separated from their friends and peers.

With nobody to talk or play with them, they got glued to smartphones or television. In such conditions, the mental-social well-being of people, particularly children and youngsters, can easily get disturbed or may lead to what we can call Covid-anxiety. A lot of negative emotions like fear, worry, loneliness, anxiety, panic, and stress may make a home in their minds.

Raman was also experiencing all these emotions. The combination of all these negative emotions made him full of despair!

When everything comes to a standstill, it is difficult to keep the faith and move on with life. But dealing with these emotions is a must for coping with the COVID crisis and providing support to those around you.

Tough Times Don’t Stay Forever

The COVID-anxiety may dampen your present desires but don’t let it ruin your future aspirations! In these uncertain times, you may feel the futility of thinking or doing something worthwhile.

But let me tell you that this is not the first time the world is witnessing such a crisis. There have been several episodes of pandemics in the past too! Some of them were even more devastating than the COVID pandemic.

In those trying times too, humanity survived and rebounded to create a much better world. So, think of the current situation as something transient and temporary.

It’s a critical phase which will definitely pass and humanity will emerge again with renewed zeal and determination.

Gear up for the Bright Days

The most certain thing about this COVID pandemic is that it will end one day. Of course, it will leave its impact for many more years to come.

But the situation will normalize once again and people will get back to their usual businesses. We can expect reconstruction of society and many other systems when the pandemic ends.

Today’s children and young people will have a big role to play in such reconstruction. So, you need to stay strong and prepare yourselves for the coming years. That’s possible when you face today’s challenges with courage and gear up for tomorrow.

Stay Calm to Reduce COVID-anxiety

The opposite of anxiety is to stay calm. Staying calm is not as easy as it sounds! One has to learn this important skill of staying calm, even under adverse and challenging conditions.

Here, I will tell you three mantras that will help you easily tide over this difficult phase. These practical ways will help you overcome COVID-anxiety. These will also help you in staying calm during other turbulent times in your life.

Here is how you can learn to stay calm:

Self-Regulate

Self-regulation means that you take charge of yourself. This implies that you have to be responsible for your physical, mental, and social well-being.

You can take care of your physical health by taking healthy food, plenty of rest, and doing physical exercise or yoga. You can do that by following a self-care routine. Ever tried designing a self-care routine?

For mental well-being, you need to feed the mind with good thoughts. It is essential to give yourself positive reminders to appreciate what you are good at.

These little self-praises are affirmations. You can try saying ‘I am such a dutiful daughter’, ‘I am a loyal friend’, ‘I play cricket so well’, ‘I am terrific in problem-solving’, ‘I am my superhero’, ‘I have a really pretty face’, ‘I am superb’, ‘I am my favorite’ or ‘I have such a good physique’. Wonder how many times do you praise yourself?

For social well-being, connect with your parents, family, and friends regularly. This is not the 17^th century where there is no means to connect except sending letters through horses!

You are a smartphone generation that most probably has forgotten to use this device for actual calling! Rather than just using brief messages via SMS, instant messengers, social media, try connecting with your friends via a phone call. Believe me, you will feel good!

Everyone right now is feeling lonely and secluded! Rather than waiting for others to call you, take initiative — pick up the phone and just call your best friend. I am sure right now they need you just as much as you do!

Be Compassionate

Remember that you are not alone in this suffering from COVID-19.There are millions all over the world who got confined to their homes because of the pandemic. And they may also experience COVID-anxiety apart from loss of their loved ones.

In a crisis of such magnitude, people come together and support each other. That might not be physically possible due to fear of infection. But there are digital and electronic means to connect and talk with your loved ones.

So, how can you be kind and practice compassion for others?

Start with being kind to yourself and those close to you. Learn to empathize with people. What does that mean? It means try putting yourself in other people’s situations. How will you expect people to behave with you in that situation?

Kind words cost nothing, but they leave an unforgettable mark on the hearts of people. Be open to what people have to say. Sometimes, in times of distress, people need somebody who could just listen without judging them.

Manage Your Emotions

Some emotions like anger, fear, and grief are overwhelming while others, like happiness, sadness, and loneliness, may feel a little subtle. I am sure you must have experienced most of these emotions. Positive emotions boost your confidence, whereas negative emotions lower your self-esteem.

In times of distress such as the pandemic, it’s natural for people to experience more negative emotions like the COVID-anxiety. Our emotions play a critical role in maintaining our physical, mental, and social well-being. Hence, it becomes pertinent to think about our emotions and manage them. So, how are you feeling in the present moment? Ask these questions to yourself more often.

If you are not emotionally strong, you may experience a deterioration in your overall health. So, how can you become emotionally strong? If you thought crying is an indicator of weak emotional state, you may be hugely mistaken! Different people express their emotions differently.

Emotional strength lies in your ability to cope with difficult circumstances, managing stress effectively, and rebounding to your healthy self quickly. Can you think of somebody who has these qualities?

For becoming an emotionally strong person, you need to manage your emotions well.

Below is a 3-step process to manage emotions:

1. Identify Your Feelings

First, identify what kind of emotion are you feeling? Is it a positive emotion or a negative emotion? If it is a negative emotion, how is it affecting you? Do you want to disengage yourself from these emotions? You may write the answers to these questions in a journal of your feelings. I bet this is going to be a useful exercise!

If the answer to the last question is ‘yes’ that you wish to disengage from your negative emotion, then you need to do some self-speculation.

2. Reason Out to Disengage from a Negative Emotion

Now, your task will be to locate the origin of your emotion. Recall the thought which came to your mind just before the emotion. Your thoughts determine how you feel. Once you are aware of that thought, now analyze it. Was it a rational thought? Or was it an irrational or illogical thought? For instance,–You wake up at night and get scared of a shadow which looked like a tiger. On turning on the light, you realize it was just a cat, no tiger.

A class 12^th student may become overanxious, thinking excessively about when the final Board exams will happen. But can overthinking help? Let’s accept that some things are not under our control. For such issues, the best option is to wait patiently and let the time do its magic.

Many people are in the habit of thinking in black or white. For example–I could not do this sum right, I can never be good at mathematics. My friend doesn’t call me, nobody wants me! Or to the extent of saying nothing interests me, so I am useless and dumb! Identify these thoughts and banish them right away. These are useless and baseless thoughts. Such thought will only disappoint you and create frustration.

Some emotions have the power to mask your intellect. Anger and grief are some such emotions. If you feel heightened emotional outburst and find it difficult to cope with them, it is best to consult a counselor or an adult whom you can confide.

Sometimes, it’s not our thoughts but some objects or people that might create stress. Identify those stressors. Avoid them or fix a particular time for them if it’s not possible to avoid. Like, news channels and media can create COVID-anxiety and stress if you watch them the entire day.

3. Engage Yourself Creatively

Thoughts never stop! I have heard many students complaining about not able to stop their negative thoughts. This hugely distracts them from what they should really be doing. Identifying the flawed thinking pattern may give some relief. But it will not ensure its recurrence.

To stop negative thoughts, you will need to replace them with positive thoughts. And you may engage your mind in something creative and constructive, like developing a hobby or learning something new. This may also help in reducing the feeling of loneliness or boredom, a major cause of COVID-anxiety among children.

A student who identified his negative thought may even get motivation out of it. As he may start working hard till he gets all the sums right. Thus, disputing the thought that he could never be good at mathematics.

Meditation and relaxation techniques may also help you in moving away from your negative thoughts.

If you practice these three mantras — self regulate, be compassionate, and manage your emotions — in your life, you will never feel discontented or disheartened. You will learn to stay calm even in times of emotional turbulence.

You will feel gratitude for what you have and pain on seeing misery of others. COVID-anxiety will no longer stop you from hoping and dreaming of a bright future. Nor will it dampen your aspirations.