With grief and doom everywhere, there is generally an atmosphere of fear and hopelessness. Many have even developed chronic insomnia because of it. How can people find a balance when so many are losing their loved ones and/or going through traumatic experiences?
01 Jun, 2021 | 09:09It is very difficult indeed and we are all going through so many emotions. We hear about so many people dying or being critically ill that it is hard to stay positive. Remember that the pandemic will take time to come down. Many things are being done like vaccination, improving hospital services and having volunteer groups.
Each of us has our own threshold for feeling sad about the situation and anxious about it. Identify your threshold and be aware of how you are feeling. The moment you feel that you are overwhelmed, try to delink from the news or the conversation and pay attention to something else. While you cant stay positive always, what you can do is identify what stresses you out most. Is it your fear, is it death and dying, is it the fact that oxygen or beds may not be available- which kind of news makes you feel overwhelmed. Try not to shut yourself away from all news because that will lead to avoidance. Avoidance can increase anxiety because it increases your sensitivity to becoming anxious. You may find that if you are avoiding all bad news, you get triggered even with small things.
Also try and involve yourself in helping someone. Even if it a small thing like talking to an elderly person in your family over a call daily, organising food for the needy, doing an hour of volunteering or helping in the neighbourhood with some information. All this will make you feel that you are contributing and feel less out of control.
