Earlier on this week, I was invited to do a talk on stress management to a group of ladies because this pandemic has taken a toll on people’s mental health and wellbeing. The post today will show you how to manage your stress levels during this pandemic.

Everyone is struggling in one way or the other. Building resilience and living a stress-free life is so important now more than ever. It is always a good idea to recognise the signs of stress and know when to ask for help.

Our body is a set of interrelated systems. Any muscle tension will exert control over our mental functions and this emotional tension influence muscles and pain. The same happens with the digestive, circulatory system, etc.

For example: if there is a continuous state of alert (due to stress, worries), it will cause muscle tension, which can become chronic, and the functions of the rest of the body, such as the immune (regenerative), digestive and circulatory system, would be relegated to a second plane, causing the appearance of diseases “without apparent cause.”

Read: Tips to help with anxiety during this pandemic

These symptoms perpetuated over time, in turn, aggravate emotional distress, social relationships, and stress, creating a vicious cycle of emotional disturbance, pain, and the onset of illness.

If we act on the muscles through neuromuscular relaxation processes, we will be able to reduce the constant emotional tension that our rhythm of life gives us, and we will improve the functioning of the rest of the systems.

Among the therapeutic effects of relaxation, we find:

• Decreased activation of the sympathetic system (related to stress)
• Decreased blood pressure
• Increased immune capacity
• Decreased anxiety
• Increased concentration and attention
• Sleep improvement
• Greater self-acceptance

I am a big fan of relaxation via meditation. Practicing Mindfulness has really helped me through the years to cope with stress. Any breathing exercise is good to boost your mental health during this pandemic.

I tend to meditate or go for a mindful walk first thing in the morning and this helps to set the tone for my day. Brisk walking is also very good.

Are you self-isolating? Here are some 5 exercises to stay fit without leaving your home.

As a Mindfulness Practitioner, I have been using a lot of this knowledge and skills to write my blog articles. Hope they have been useful to you.

The most suitable position which I use to meditate is by lying on my back (risk of falling asleep high) or sitting in a comfortable position. The place where we meditate should be quiet, with soft music, a pleasant temperature.

The duration is variable: from 10 minutes to an hour. It is important that it is always carried out at the same time to create a habit.

At first, it is normal to be distracted, so we should not get frustrated if we start thinking about something else in the middle of relaxation. If we practice it, we will see how little by little, the concentration is greater, and we have less difficulty relaxing.

Read: 7 Types of Meditation

To begin, we must help ourselves with breathing. A deep and relaxed breathing acts and improves the mobility of the viscera, blood pressure, heart rate, and the elimination of waste from the muscles.

Adequate control of our breathing is one of the simplest strategies to deal with stressful situations and help you to stay sane during this pandemic.

There are many relaxation techniques. Everyone can choose which one they feel most comfortable with. Here is a very simple relaxation technique to put into practice:

1. Close your eyes and begin with deep, relaxed breathing.
2. Relax your shoulders and feel any tension in your body
3. Feel your arms and legs getting heavy (as if they were sinking into a soft surface, as if they were filled with lead)
4. Imagine your hands are hot (as if you had just washed with very hot water, you feel a tingling, you feel the throb of blood in your fingers)
5. Focus on your rise and fall of your chest and how your breathing is calm (like before going to sleep. When I breathe in, my arms and legs are heavier, my hands are warmer).
6. Your heartbeat is calm, with a strong and beautiful rhythm.
7. Continue with the deep breathing and how your forehead is fresh, and your head is clear (as if it were blank or with a pleasant image, faces or pleasant memories)
8. Sit in this calm and relaxed state for as long as you desire.

To get out of relaxation, we will do it slowly, moving gently and stretching, finally opening our eyes.

Hope this post on how to manage your stress levels during a pandemic was useful to you. Do leave your thoughts, ideas and suggestions in the comments section below.

Thank for reading and see you in the next post x