Emotional well-being during Covid-19
Among the causes that have contributed the most to this decrease are deterioration in mental health (50%), greater demands at work (26%), basic physical needs (20%), isolation and lack of connection (20% ) and difficulties with life at home (13%).
What can we do to improve our well-being? Not everything is under our control, but how we take things is, and therefore we should do everything in our power to improve our well-being. We are responsible for what we do and what we stop doing.
Taking care of our mental health should always be our priority , because when we are not well, nothing is. There are guidelines and exercises that you can follow to exercise your mind. Meditation is a good exercise for your brain, in the same way that you exercise your body, exercising your mind will allow you, among other things, to let thoughts pass without occupying your attention or distracting you at that moment, as if they were cars that go passing on a highway. Meditation helps a lot to people who practice it. A daily practice of 15-20 minutes is recommended. If your concerns lead to anxiety or other more complex cases, the recommendation is that you seek a specialist.
To improve mental health, a certain level of physical activity is essential . As restrictions have been lifted and with the gradual opening of sports centers, our basic physical needs have improved. Fortunately, the days of confinement in which exercising watching YouTube videos were the only alternative, now they are just one more option.
We are social animals and therefore we need to be connected with our environment. The feeling of disconnection during the pandemic has been brutal at all levels. On a social level, we have lost loved ones, moments with loved ones, we have had to cancel trips and a long list of plans. The positive part for many people is that it has been a great time to reflect on who we are and what we want without any distraction or external stimulus. .
Our houses have become the place where we spend more time, both for leisure and work, so apart converting them into offices and schools, we have had the need to adapt and take care of them. It has not been an easy task, and many people have had real difficulties in managing life at home, for many reasons, mainly due to space and the lack of it. Turning your home into your temple of well-being has never been more important, and no matter how little you do, you will notice the results . Get rid of unnecessary objects, clothes that you no longer use, put order. Introduce plants, it is proven that we feel better in their presence, use your aroma diffuser, invest in the right furniture for teleworking.
The topic I have left for last is work and the increase in work demands it is something that we cannot always control, at least in the short term. Covid-19 has been the maximum accelerator of digitization processes and changes in the way we work, remember that until now, working from home in Spain it was only a matter of a few. In addition to the investments that many companies have made to keep us connected remotely and continue the business with the least possible disruption, a very important factor is company culture and people management. And although each sector and each business is a world, many managers are not prepared to manage people.
Attitude makes the difference. In the end, it's about adopting a less pessimistic attitude towards external stimuli and use energy to transform and convert the internal response towards something more positive for us, whatever that means (spending more time with our children or our partner, taking advantage of the time commuting to work to play sports, saving all that that we are not spending ourselves on leisure, enjoying more at home, avoiding social commitments, etc.). Let's take advantage of this moment to come out stronger.