TIO
With millions of people the world over entering lockdown and isolation to fight against spread of Coronavirus covid-19, the need for positivity becomes even more critical.
These are the few practical things we can do to foster positivity of emotions.
# Strengthen your family bond: My family and friends have started to call to check on my well being and the good news is that I am able to take their calls. So my positive take on this cornona thing is that during my family lockdown, now is the opportunity to spend quality time with my loved ones. Take this time to hug your partner, play with your kids, have long conversation with them as all of these gestures promote closeness and boost your happy hormones in order to lower the stress level.
# Cherish small moments: Even in your lockdown, you still have millions of moments to cherish. The smell of tea and coffee with your partner, feel of cool breeze at night, the warm shower on your back which were on the auto-pilot mode since ages. Give your mind a chance to process and feel the pleasure that helps elevate your mood and makes you calm.
# Look for positivity in others: Having said that, A crisis can bring out both the worst and the best in human behaviour. Since few weeks, social media is flooded with videos of people who are reaching out to others for help and also who are showing their horrific side. One I saw where three grown up women were fighting over grocery and the other had few children who stopped by to help the needy ones by giving them their food. But I think that the best in human nature is rising above the Covid challenge. Doctors and medical staff are working overtime to help the sick ones. People are donating money to help others in need. Some others are posting positive messages on social media. Friends across the globe are reaching out to eachother. When we tune into these pro-social and positive aspects of crisis, We get united in Hope.
Finally by tuning into all the above silver linings, we can potentially modify our brain’s chemical structure and build up more energy to help us cope with harder levels of life. These positive emotions can do wonders like:
* Build up Resilience: According to researchers, when we experience positive emotions at the time of stress, we tend to bounce back faster every time we practice positivity.
* Build up Immunity: A study was conducted on people suffering from influenza virus. They found out that people who had more positive emotions were more likely to fight back the symptoms easily.
To conclude, Every black cloud has a silver lining and now is our chance to broaden that lining and take charge of our mental well-being so that we are able to come out of this Corona experience strongly.
By Nida Khan
Counseling Psychologist
Founder, Rewired
(Clinic for Counseling and Psychotherapy)
