Melancholic Depression

TheAnxietyInfo Depression , , , , , , , ,
Melancholic Depression

Melancholic depression is a sub-type of major depressive disorder (MDD) with melancholic features. Major depressive disorder is a serious mental health condition that features persistent and strong feelings of sadness and hopelessness with melancholia being one of the indicators.

From the perspective of emotion, melancholy is dissimilar to grief and depression. It has distinguishing features of vague sadness and an unexplainable feeling of sorrow for which you are not able to determine the cause. Changing state of affairs in life allows melancholy to tiptoe in perniciously and catch you by surprise whereby you experience instants of extreme cheerlessness or strong yearning for no one or nothing in particular. You may struggle to feel any happiness, even though there are good things happening in your life.

From another standpoint, going through a melancholic phase can benefit you in some ways as it heightens mindfulness enabling your awareness of the present. It may also allow you to become more insightful and empathetic towards others. However, prolonged melancholy can have a considerable negative impact on your mental as well as physical health. Extreme sorrow can cloud your judgement and suppress logical reasoning.

What Causes Melancholia?

Melancholia is often referred to as “endogenous depression,” which means “depression that comes from within”. The condition is hereditary as in most instances, people with melancholia have a family record of mood disorders or suicides. And unlike other depression subtypes, melancholic depression is rarely associated with social and psychological factors.

Is Melancholy the same as Depression?

Melancholia is quite distinct from non-melancholic depression. When comparing to an individual with a different type of depression, the person with melancholia in general:

  • Builds up symptoms at a later age
  • Experiences more intense symptoms, like instead of a dull mood they are unable to sense any happiness
  • Is more likely to have suicidal thoughts and anxiety

Melancholic depression can also occur in conjunction with other specifiers. For instance, melancholia is more dominant when weather temperature is low and there is no sunlight or exist with depression with psychotic features.

Features of Melancholic Depression

With melancholic features, a patient must display four of the eight symptoms mentioned below.

The two symptoms stated below are linked to each other. The patient may experience a loss of pleasure in the common activities that they once were fond of. Similarly, the patient may not have any reaction to a normally enjoyable event, it may elevate their mood a little but will quickly return to their previous negative perspective. Also to new events, the patient with melancholic depression holds the same perspective on life and has minimal or no reaction.

  • Loss of pleasure in all or almost all activities
  • No reaction to a normally enjoyable event

Three or more of the following is experienced during the most severe period of the present episode:

  • Severely depressed mood – patients experience a severely depressed mood over time. The distinguishing features of this include unexplained sadness, despair, and a sense of loneliness. And every day, this perspective towards life remains the same which is quite distinctive to their previous attitude.
  • Waking up early and unable to return to sleep, which is more than 2 hours before usual waking time.
  • Sense of depression is regularly worse in the morning – bodily, the patient will show signs of weight Loss. Their overwhelming feelings of melancholy make them uninterested in life as well as in eating. 
  • Change in energy level – patients will normally experience one of the two changes in energy levels, either they will have a significant decrease in the level of activity, slower response time, slower movements or have faster movements, high agitation, and increased activity levels.
  • Excessive or inappropriate guilt – patients with melancholic depression may also experience feelings of guilt. The distinguishing feature is the intensity of the guilt as the guilt expressed will not match the event that occurred.

Treatment of Melancholic Depression

Normally, a physician will recommend antidepressants and depending on the assessment, the physician may suggest a long-term or shot-term treatment.

Together with medication, it may be suggested to see a psychologist who can treat with cognitive behaviour therapy.  This will allow the patient to discuss their difficulties and progress with new behaviour and goals. Talking can help adjust to a stressful event, replace the negative thoughts with positive ones, raise self-esteem and regain control in life.

However, if melancholic depression is severe and a challenging case, the patient may require electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This form of therapy includes sending electrical impulses to the brain by connecting electrodes to the head.

With proper treatment and support from family and friends throughout the entire treatment, a patient with melancholic depression can make full recovery. However, after being treated it is essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle and social interaction to prevent relapses.

Non-Medical Treatments for Melancholic Depression

Below are few tips to divert you from extreme sadness and uplift your mood so that your mind and body can gradually go back to your usual self.

Colour Therapy

Different colours draw a physiological response from us. Choose colours that you are delighted with as colours can be deeply intimate and induce fond memories. You can revamp your wardrobe with happy and fun coloured clothes, paint your living space with brighter hues or get throws pillows and rugs in cheerful colours. Colours like orange, yellow and red can lift your mood and boost self-esteem, whereas blues and greens can be tranquilizing.

Journaling your Thoughts

Benefits of journaling are when you review it, that’s where you see your response in those instants and you can reflect and analyze your feelings. It can also be seen as a really good way to blow off some stream without actually getting involved in a distasteful encounter. Also important to know that journaling is very different from diary entries and to-do lists as journaling are noting down your thoughts, feelings, and reflection of a meeting or an event.

Take Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins can assist your body to tackle the symptoms of melancholy, stress, and depression namely B-complex vitamins like B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 B12 and Vitamins C and D. These supply the body with the energy to fight stress, fatigue and assist in the creation of the happy hormones (serotonin and dopamine). Vitamin C is also essential for individuals with lower serotonin as insufficient serotonin is related to depressive mood disorders. Deficiency of minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium, and manganese can also induce depression

Avoid Negative Thought Process

Having specific thoughts that are self-focused and narrow can result in melancholy. These unsound thinking patterns can become habitual and grasp your mind and result in despair and sadness. These thoughts might include comparing yourself to others, not counting your blessings, and catastrophizing where you always think and expect the worst to happen.

How can you help a loved one with melancholia?

It can be tough to see your loved one go through melancholic depression. Below are some ways you can help support them:

  • Help them get started in the morning as melancholia symptoms are the worst when a person wakes up. Assisting them with their early morning tasks will give them the strength to get through the day
  • Try to ensure they eat regularly. Even though they do not feel hungry, their body still requires food.
  • Avoid judgmental expressions like “snap out of it”. You have to be understanding of the fact that people with melancholia need time and professional treatment to get better.
  • Do not take their mood personally as people with melancholia struggle to feel happy and it doesn’t reflect how they feel about you.
  • Know when to get help. In a situation where you are certain that your loved one is about to cause self-harm you can call 911 or the suicide prevention lifeline.

Overall, melancholic depression can greatly impact a person’s relationships, occupation and health. In most severe cases, it may provoke an individual to attempt suicide. Unlike other types of depression, melancholia causes long periods of suicidal thoughts. If you or a loved one is suffering from melancholic depression, know that there is hope. Assistance from a licensed therapist with medical and non-medical treatments together with love and support from family and friends can help you recover from melancholic depression.

Book Summary: Pregnancy Blues – What Every Woman Needs to Know About Depression During Pregnancy

TheAnxietyInfo Anxiety Disorder, Depression, Self-Help Books , , , , , , ,
Book Summary: Pregnancy Blues – What Every Woman Needs to Know About Depression During Pregnancy

Pregnancy Blues: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Depression During Pregnancy by Shaila Kulkarni Misri is a ground-breaking book that has seminal work exclusively focusing on prenatal depression. Pregnancy blues unravels this agonizing yet treatable illness by providing insight into the key social and biological factors that combine to create a hostile environment for depression and anxiety to thrive, as well as proposing the numerous effective treatments that exist.

Each year in the United States, well over 400,000 babies are born to depressed mothers, making prenatal depression the most under-diagnosed pregnancy complication in the country. The numbers are astonishing as the author also highlights that up to 70 percent of pregnant women go through a certain level of depressive symptoms, out of which 12 percent meet the symptoms of major depression.

Given the current global situation, this book may prove to be helpful to many to-be mothers as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) may have added to the existing feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. In addition to focusing on elements that pregnant women can control, they also have access to this useful resource to aid in alleviating uncertainly and stress.

Though pregnancy is considered blissful, there are numerous women out there whose excitement is often overwhelmed by feelings of fear, confusion, and sadness. Prenatal depression is seldom discussed and most often misunderstood as opposed to postpartum depression, which is well portrayed and accepted by the medical community.

This book aims to change that perception by focusing entirely on depression during pregnancy and making it a credible reference for women by including invaluable case studies and medical information.

The author, Dr. Shaila Kulkarni Misri, a prominent reproductive psychiatrist with 25 years of medical practice and research has been successful in offering hope, assistance, reformative actions, and laying the myths to rest on the subject through this book.

The fact that will particularly resonate with many is that all pregnant women are vulnerable during the course of their pregnancy. To which the author explicitly states: “If a woman (…) feels burdened rather than uplifted by her pregnancy, she should be particularly aware that while her physical health may be fine, there is something very wrong emotionally and she needs to seek help.”

Di. Misri also focuses on the cultural nuances of birth and pregnancy, she challenges the basic traditions and beliefs relating to pregnancy and motherhood by exploring the misinterpretations that have led to under-diagnosis and insufficient treatment of prenatal depression.

In the opening chapter, it is validating how the author talks about the numerous ways in which societal expectations and pressures, inner stress, and women’s distinct biology all work together to affect mental health during pregnancy.

“I believe it’s time to take off those rose-colored glasses and look at a picture of pregnancy that may not be as pretty as the one that’s been painted by the media but which is, for too many women, sadly more realistic.

Until we are willing to do that, we are unwittingly sentencing these women to continue hiding in plain sight, unable or unwilling to admit, perhaps even to themselves, that their experience of pregnancy is not what they’ve been taught to expect, and that what appears to be so joyful for others is for them a time of sadness, fear, and confusion.

These women need to know that it doesn’t have to be that way, that there is help, and that they cannot and should not be embarrassed or afraid to get the help they need.”

Noteworthy Learnings from the Book

  • Exactly how you can identify the signs and symptoms of depression-and recognise when to seek help
  • Information on the role of female hormones, explaining why women are more vulnerable to depression as opposed to men
  • How depression disguises itself in your physical complaints, such as back, stomach, or chest pain
  • The implicit connection between infertility and depression
  • The antidepressant debate, outlining the facts of specific drugs, their safety and when medication is the correct choice
  • The risks and benefits of breastfeeding and medication

In addition to above, the author also offers beneficial self-tests and resources, particulars on the alternative treatment options ranging from therapy to acupuncture and far more.

Why you should read this book?

Pregnancy Blues has a remarkable balance of clinical information in simple language, together with a multicultural perspective on birth and pregnancy. Dr Misri’s extensive experience in clinical practice and examining over 3,000 women a year in her pregnancy depression clinic adds credibility to this book.

During pregnancy, just like your body, your mind should be in a healthy state as well and this book helps to achieve just that. What can be appreciated most is how strikingly the author has given a voice to all women out there suffering from prenatal depression and assuring them comfort in their difficult time.

Prenatal depression is often masked in silence, shame, and denial, by having access to factual resources, such as this book, we can help ourselves as well as several women around us who may be silently suffering too. This book is filled with stories of women who took a step forward and transformed a potentially damaging experience into a manageable one that eventually brought them the joy of bonding with a healthy and happy baby.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

TheAnxietyInfo Anxiety Disorder, Depression , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD Definition

This article will explore in-depth the OCD definition, various types of OCD, its causes, symptoms, and examples of OCD, what OCD behavior is, OCD test available, and the treatment of the disorder.

Before moving forward, let us get familiar with the acronym OCD as many of us may not be. The abbreviation OCD is short for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

The following content will be worth the read as it provides simple explanations and pointers to gain further insight into the anxiety disorder. OCD has become part of the modern English jargon as it gets used by non-OCD sufferers in talks where they would be referring to someone who is too tidy, overly organized, or very particular about certain things. This misunderstanding of what OCD is stigmatizes those who actually suffer from the disorder. It is completely normal to be a neat freak, to double-check something, to enjoy organizing your closet, have an occasional violent thought, worry that you will get contaminated with germs, but the difference is that for OCD sufferers this will be overwhelming and greatly interfere with their everyday life.

To begin with, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder it is a type of anxiety disorder in which individuals experience persistent and recurrent thoughts, impulses, or images that are involuntary (obsessions) and action repetitive and ritualistic behaviors that are extreme, unnecessary and distressing (compulsions).

Three Main Elements of OCD

Explained in detail are the 2 main elements; obsessions and compulsive behaviour:

Obsessions

Obsessions refer to recurring, uncontrollable, and unwanted thoughts, sensations, ideas, or feelings. Practically, everyone has unwanted thoughts at some point and it could be things like “have I forgotten to turn off the stove or the iron?” or an unwanted violent image. But the difference is if the thought is persistent and dominates your thoughts to the extent that it interrupts other normal thoughts and take up a lot of your time. It is important to identify if it is an obsession or just a normal thought.

Compulsive behaviour

Compulsions are behaviors that an individual feels the urge to keep repeating over and over again. Compulsions typically start as a technique of trying to prevent or lessen anxiety caused by the obsessive thought. Common forms of compulsive behavior in individuals with OCD include:

  • Checking – such as checking if the doors are locked or that the iron is off
  • Counting
  • Cleaning and hand washing
  • Repeating words in their head
  • Hoarding
  • Ordering and arranging
  • Asking for reassurance
  • Avoiding circumstances or places which might trigger those obsessive thoughts

It is possible to only have obsessive thoughts or only compulsions, but most individuals with OCD experience both.

The OCD Cycle

Unfortunately, these obsessive thoughts can be quite distracting and disturbing. In most instances the compulsive behavior momentarily relieves the obsessions and anxiety, for example, if you are terrified of germs then you may get into the habit of cleaning vigorously all the time. However, as this only provides short-term relief, the obsessive thoughts and anxiety typically return much stronger causing the cycle to begin again. Not being able to carry out the obsessive rituals can initiate anxiety and anguish.

The OCD Cycle

Causes of OCD

Even though there has been a considerable amount of research done, experts have not been able to identify a definite cause as to why an individual may develop Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

However, there are numerous theories for the possible causes of OCD, including genetics, hormonal changes, environmental factors, biological factors, personality traits, pregnancy, or specific events that can trigger the disorder in an individual. It is highly likely that these factors work together to trigger the development of OCD. Three of the risk factors are further explained below:

What Causes OCD

Whilst the cause is presently still being debated, what is not in disagreement is the point that OCD is indeed a long-lasting disorder, but equally a treatable medical condition.

It’s also imperative that we don’t become fixated on what causes our OCD at the expense of overcoming it.  Recognizing the cause won’t essentially help us overcome it, so our emphasis must continue to be on tackling the problem we have right now.

Symptoms of OCD

Below are a few OCD symptoms to lookout out for if you suspect you or someone you know may have OCD.

Symptoms of OCD

Typical obsessive thoughts include:

  • Fear of being infected by germs or spreading it to others
  • Fear of harming yourself or others by mistake. For example, fear you may set the house on fire by leaving an appliance on
  • Fear of self-harming or to others intentionally. For example, fear you may attack someone
  • Intrusive sexually explicit thoughts and images
  • Excessive apprehensions about illness, morality or religious issues
  • Excessive apprehension with orderliness, symmetry, and exactness. For example, you may feel the need to keep making sure all the labels on the tins in your cupboard face the same way.
  • Superstitions; extreme attention to something considered lucky or unlucky

Typical compulsive behaviours include:

  • Spending an extended amount of time on cleaning and washing
  • Extreme double-checking, such as appliances, locks, and switches
  • Continually checking in on loved ones to make sure they’re safe
  • Counting, tapping, repeating certain words
  • Ordering or arranging things for no specific reason
  • Accumulating “junk” such as old magazines or empty food containers

Types of OCD

Types of OCD

OCD Test

During the self-assessment phase, there are numerous different types of OCD tests and online quizzes available to help determine if there is a need for you to pursue the diagnosis and treatment of OCD with a mental health professional. The OCD test used can be shared with your physician to further your diagnosis and treatment. Mentioned below are some beneficial OCD test available:

Treatment for OCD

There are some effective treatments for OCD that can help decrease the impact it has on your life.

Treatment for OCD and Anxiety

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Medication

Initial treatments are considered to be Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and/or medications. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a type of CBT that has shown to effectively treat OCD. This enables you to face your obsessive thoughts and fears without putting them through compulsions.

Both licensed mental health and a medical professional will work together to develop a treatment plan involving visits to the therapist’s office a few times a week for ERP and prescribing the right medication which can alter the chemical imbalance in your brain.

Anxiety Management Techniques

Anxiety management techniques can assist an individual to effectively manage their own symptoms. These techniques can include inducing the relaxation response in the body through meditation, breathing exercises, and mindfulness. The regular practice of these techniques together with the cognitive behavior therapy treatment is the most effective.

Support Groups and Education

OCD support group allows OCD sufferers to meet in an environment that they feel comfortable and safe in and offer and obtain support. These groups help provide the perfect opportunity to learn more about the disorder and advance the social network.

Self-help tips for people living with OCD

In addition to therapy, listed below are some suggestions on how you can help yourself:

Conclusion

To conclude, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can have a profound effect on an individual’s life and often they are embarrassed about their symptoms and try to hide them. Therefore the disorder needs to be identified by yourself by a friend or family member before you or everyone else becomes deeply involved in the rituals causing distress and disruption. Gaining knowledge from the pointers provided above on the OCD definition, various types of OCD, its causes, symptoms, and examples of OCD, OCD test available, and OCD treatment can be highly beneficial to identify the disorder and tackle it.

Book Summary: A Guide to Rational Living

TheAnxietyInfo Depression, Self-Help Books , , , , ,
Book Summary: A Guide to Rational Living

A Guide to Rational Living, by Albert Ellis & Robert A. Harper, is a praiseworthy self-development guide with practical and proven techniques to change your self-destructive emotions and behaviors. The book vividly demonstrates what you do to unnecessarily distress yourself and how you can overcome this to become an emotionally stronger person. 

With the on-going global coronavirus pandemic, this book proves to be particularly valuable as most individuals face unprecedented challenges in their lives; having to deal with emotional disturbance, extreme feelings of uncertainty, anxiousness, and recurring depressive thoughts.

The author, Albert Ellis (1913 – 2007) was one of the most prominent psychotherapists as he pioneered Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) which gained an extensive standing in the 1960s and is the basis of this book.

REBT is based on the concept that our thoughts generate our emotions and influence our behaviors. The author, Albert Ellis was certain that people can change their emotions together with their behaviors by debating their irrational thoughts with facts and reasoning. In this book, he highlights the top 10 irrational ideas that cause the greatest number of people to experience unpleasant emotions.

The author clarifies that the objective of implementing rationality is not to be more happy, but rather to make straight one’s thinking so that one is constantly less unhappy.

How to deal with anxiety

Observing your Internal Dialogue

Ellis explains that we humans as language-creating animals tend to articulate our emotions and ideas in words and sentences which effectually become our thoughts and emotions. So fundamentally, we are what we tell ourselves, and for any personal change, it requires us to initially look at our internal conversations. Do our internal dialogues SERVE US or UNDERMINE US?

On the topic of anxiety, Ellis emphasizes being able to challenge our irrational philosophies:

“…track your worries and anxieties back to the specific sentences of which they consist. Invariably, you will find that you are telling yourself:

“Isn’t it terrible that…” “Wouldn’t it be awful if…”

Ellis guides his patients to oppose these irrational philosophies with questions like:

“Why would it be so terrible that…?”

“Would it really be so awful if…?”

He goes on: “Certainly if this or that happened it might well be inconvenient, annoying, or unfortunate. But would it really be catastrophic?”

Consequently, in order to address any form of anxiety, Ellis marks:

“…verbal and active de-propagandization are usually essential. You must first realize that you created the anxiety by your internalized sentences, and you must vigorously and persistently ferret out these sentences and challenge and contradict them. Then you must also push yourself to do the thing you are senselessly afraid of and act against your fear.”

Never being ‘desperately unhappy’ again

Ellis goes on to highlight the fact that the greatest challenge for individuals today is having control over their emotional lives.

A Guide to Rational Living contains various records of therapy sessions between Ellis and his patients. Following is a considerable example of his advice to one of his clients suffering from depression.  

 “The best you can do, at first, is to observe your depressed state after they have already arisen. And then to see, by theoretical analysis and inference, that you must have brought them on by telling yourself some nonsense.”

“…this will often be difficult. For once your depression sets in, as you noted a while ago, you don’t feel like un-depressing yourself again; you almost want to stay depressed. And unless you combat this feeling, and actively go after your underlying sentences with which you created your depression, you will, of course, stay quite miserable.”

Now, the individual will face a dilemma: remain depressed for the foreseeable future or make an effort to fight the negative feeling by noticing what they did to initiate it.

 “A tough choice,” Ellis states “But if you keep taking the lesser of these two evils. That is –combating your negative feelings, then eventually the time comes when your basic philosophy of life matures. As a result, you will depress yourself much more rarely, to begin with, and have an easier time getting yourself out of your vile mood when you do unconsciously put yourself in one.”

The Ultimate Point

Are human beings RATIONAL or IRRATIONAL beings?

According to the book, we are both. We are intelligent but we still pursue immature, nonsensical, bigoted behavior anyway. The basic to a good life is applying rationality to the utmost irrational aspect of life, the emotions.

There is a mirror of Buddhism in the rational-emotive approach as it recognizes that no matter what happened in your past, it is the present that matters and what you can do NOW to improve it. The author, Ellis learned this himself as a child: that you don’t have to become upset by circumstances unless you allow yourself to be, it is always possible to control your reactions. Even though this form of therapy is tough-minded, it in fact signifies an optimistic view of people.

Why you should read this book

It is an excellent self-help book on psychotherapy without the use of psychology jargon making it fit for laypeople. It essentially delivers emotionally troubled individuals with all the answers they seek especially those suffering from depression.

A Guide to Rational Living can benefit anyone to understand how their emotions are initiated, and most importantly how reasonably happy and fruitful life can be yours just through discipline and more caution in your thinking.

You may be doubtful of the fact that reasoning is the way out of your emotional clutter, but Ellis’s revolutionary ideas that are supported by his forty years of cognitive psychology is the rationale that it works. 

How to Deal With Anxiousness During a Pandemic?

TheAnxietyInfo Anxiety Disorder, Depression, Social Anxiety , , , , , , , , , ,
How to Deal With Anxiousness During a Pandemic?

Fear is a reaction to a definite and very real threat, whereas, anxiety is a reaction to ambiguous or bizarre threats and it is absolutely essential to gain insight on how to deal with anxiousness. Anxiety is conspicuous when we believe that an unsafe or disastrous event may take place and we are automatically anticipating it. Every person at some point in time in their life experiences anxiety at their own different degree and intensity.

A pandemic is a specific and rare state of affairs. The outbreak of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) which was  “characterized as a pandemic” by the director of World Health, (Ghebreyesus, 2020).

“It has deeply disturbed how we live and work, and many of us are feeling comprehensibly stressed, confused, and frightened. This is not just a public health crisis, it is a crisis that will touch every sector, So every sector and every individual must be involved in the fights.” 

(Ghebreyesus, 2020)

Hence, it is normal to feel anxious during a pandemic. Fear and anxiety related to a disease can be overwhelming, which could result in strong emotions in adults and children. However, for some people it is hard to control their fears which is more perpetual and happens to affect their daily lives. 

Anxiety in the course of an infectious disease outbreak includes:

  • Stress and concern regarding their own health and the health of the family
  • Change in sleep pattern and the eating style
  • Struggling to concentrate on important matters
  • Deterioration of prolonged health problems
  • Deterioration of mental health problems
  • Increased consumption of cigarettes, alcohol, or any other type of drug

The heightened anxiety during the hectic, unprecedented time is inevitable but there are ways to improve your attitude in dealing with it that can greatly reduce your overall sense of helplessness.  Instead of feeling the waves of lockdown anxiety, we could learn how to overcome anxiousness during a pandemic.

Ways to Deal With Anxiety During Pandemics

Stay informed about the news and advises from relevant authorities

It is important to know what’s happening in your area and to take the necessary precautions when required. Stay away from the fabricated information going around that makes you more anxious. Use reliable sources such as the World Health Organization, health authorities, reliable local newspaper. Avoid constant monitoring of news and social media feeds which can aggravate your anxious feeling rather than easing it. If you are feeling overwhelmed with news feeds, try cutting down your media consumption to a specific timeframe. Verify your information before passing it to others and spreading unnecessary fright.

Concentrate on things you can control

The uncertainty surrounding this pandemic includes; how everyone acts, what’s happening in the economy, when will the lockdown finish, how long we have to work from home an all the various scenarios that might occur. We start looking for incomprehensible answers for all the scenarios we might come up without actually facing them, hence, feeling flabbergasted, anxious, and drained out.

Try shifting your attention to things you can control when you feel being caught up in the distress of thinking about what might happen during this pandemic and ways to overcome anxiousness. One cannot control the harshness of the pandemic but can take steps to reduce the spread and fear of risk surrounding it. There are plenty of things people can do to control the spread, especially to the ones who are at high risk. Things that people can do to control the spread includes:

  • Keeping your hands clean at all times. Wash it with soap and water for 20 seconds or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer especially after visiting the washroom, before eating and touching your face, after coughing or sneezing.
  • Avoid touching your face, especially eyes, nose, and mouth.
  • Limit your non-essential travel and shopping, except going out to buy medicine or food. Stay home when you are not even sick.
  • Practice social distancing – avoid close contact with other people and avoid crowds and gatherings.
  • Plan your self-isolation/self-quarantine – It’s okay to be concerned about what’s happening at the workplace, school, and with other relatives and friends. Plan for what you can and being proactive can relieve some level of fear and anxiety.
  • Follow your health authorities’ recommendations and advice.

Stay connected even during self-isolation or self-quarantine

While it is very important to maintain social distance yourself from other people to condense the spread of the virus, social distancing can be its own source of stress – the worries about families and friends, particularly those who are at higher risk with job security and the upcoming financial problems. Few or no social contacts incubates anxiety and over time it builds up making it hard to contain. Also, cutting down on social interactions causes loneliness which can lead to depression. Hence it’s important to stay connected and reach out to support when needed.

Try doing video chats with your loved ones. Face-to-face chats will uplift your mental health and help in reducing stress and fear of being alone.  

Stay engaged with social media in a meaningful way to feel connected in a greater way to our communities, friends, family, and acquaintances is the best means to beat social anxiety.            

While chatting, don’t let the conversation be only on the pandemic, move out of that discussion, and enjoy each other’s company with your laughs and stories, and talk on other things of life.

It’s the right time to explore the full potential of digital technologies that will assist us to stay connected.

Take care of yourself

Good self-care helps in keeping your immune system healthy. It is important to eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep, engaging in leisure activities that will help keep you physically and psychologically healthy, and stress-free. Here are ways in which you can practice good self-care during this pandemic:

  • Go easy on yourself if you facing more than the usual depression or anxiety. You are not alone.
  • If you are stuck at home for isolation, make a routine for yourself and habit to follow it such as mealtime, work schedules, sleep time, family time, and leisure time. This will help you feel a sense of normalcy.
  • Get yourself plenty of sunshine and fresh air – you will feel good.           
  • Stay active by engaging in regular exercise – cycling, walking or hiking, yoga, or practice online exercise videos. This will, in turn, help manage your mood to release and relieve your stress.
  • Avoid using alcohol or other addictive and harmful substances/drugs to help in dealing with anxiety and depression.

Help each other during a crisis

During this time of crisis, everyone is worried about their fears and concern. A lot of people have lost their jobs or are working on reduced hours during this pandemic and they are worried about their family, financial status and when will this pandemic end. It’s important to remind everyone that we are not alone in this. Helping others will make a greater difference not only to your communities but the world at large and this will also elevate your own mental health and well-being. Panic buying by people has also made others who are not able to afford in fear of price increase or shortage of food supplies – similar to the epic toilet paper fight.

  • Try reaching out to others in need. Especially the elders or less fortunate ones.
  • Donate food/cash to help older people, low-income earners, or those who lost their jobs.
  • Being a positive influence on someone’s life in this anxious time will make you feel better about your situation.
  • Barter for a better living – helping others with what they need in return for what they can do for you will make you feel content and less anxious.

Conclusion

All in all, this pandemic is worst the world has ever faced and everyone is going through their own set of fear and anxiety and each person’s mental health is deeply affected. It is important to follow certain measures on how to deal with anxiousness during a pandemic that will help throughout this time of uncertainty.

Book Summary: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

TheAnxietyInfo Self-Help Books, Social Anxiety , , ,
Book Summary: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman and Nan Silver is a very timely and research-backed book that outlines ways in which we can make the marriage work, and perhaps help with relationship anxiety that many are exposed to today.

With nationwide coronavirus lockdown, marriages have been put to the test like never before. According to Bloomberg, the biggest hike in the U.S. divorce rate was after World War II, when the returning soldiers were welcomed by wives, who had become accustomed to controlling their household by themselves.

On the same note, the lockdown due to COVID-19 evidenced an elevated divorced rate. ABC News cites forced proximity as the primary reason for divorce rates after the COVID-19 crisis.

The author John M. Gottman has very candidly stated in his book – The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work that happily married couples are not richer, smarter, or more psychologically astute than others.

“But in their day-to-day lives, the couple have hit upon a dynamic that keeps their negative thoughts and feeling about each other (which all couples have) from overwhelming their positive ones. They have what I call an emotionally intelligent marriage.”

What can make a marriage work is astonishingly simple!

The author implies that mutual respect for and enjoyment of each other’s company is at the heart of his program.

Gottman’s psychological research has busted some of the myths about what leads to a happy and stable partnership among couples and partners.

Myths Busted:

Professional counselors iterate that poor communication between partners is the key obstacle to happy, lasting marriage. What they do not realize is communication is paralyzed in heated screaming matches. Very few people – maybe the Dalai Lama, are capable of being calm in magnanimous in the face of criticism.

Major differences of opinion will destroy a marriage.  Gottman reveals a shocking truth: “Most arguments between partners cannot be resolved.” For example, Lila wants to have children, Chris on the other hand, has no interest. And the list goes on:

  • Jamie always wants more sex than Lara.
  • Sheena wants to bring the kids up Catholic while John wants to raise them Jewish.
  • Roger always flirts at parties and Katy hates it.

Partners spend years and a huge amount of energy trying to change each other. But in practicality, the massive disagreements are about values and a different point of view for seeing the world.

Practical couples understand this and decide to accept each other.

Get a copy of the amazingly researched book to unleash other myths to saving a marriage or relationship!

Signs that couples may be on the path to divorce – if not soon then within some years if things do not change:

  • Starting a conversation with criticism, harsh words or contempt.
  • Stonewalling. This happens when one partner “turns off,” because he/she is not able to tolerate frequent criticism and defensiveness.
  • Flooding. When either partner is bombarded with verbal attacks from the other. When someone is attacked, an increase in heart rate and blood pressure leads to the release of hormones, namely adrenaline. When this becomes too common, both members try to avoid the experience by disengaging from each other.

Ways to save a marriage:

According to Gottman, marriage is ‘shared meaning’ – each partner supports the other’s dreams, ambitions, and hopes. No one person should sacrifice to make the other happy.

“Genuine friendships are equal”

  • Be familiar and interested to your partner’s world

Couples in strong relationships are in touch with their partner’s feelings and wants.

  • Turn toward your partner

The moment when you stop acknowledging each other, the relationship is on its way out.

  • Allow yourself to be influenced

This comes naturally to women, but men find this difficult. Happier marriages are those in which the man listens to his wife and factors into account her feelings and views.

As Gottman puts it : “ Better, Longer Lasting Marriages are those in which the power is shared”.

Why You Should Read the Book:

There are hundreds of books and articles on how you can improve relationships, but Gottman’s The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work has the edge as its finds are backed by hardcore actual data.

The author, a psychology professor carried out a study based on over 650 real married couples over a 14 years period to understand and compile solid scientific data on marriage and the rationale for making it work.

Some of the people who came to his marriage classes were on the brink of divorce, however, after learning his principles their relapse rate back to marital misery was less than half the average for marriage counseling.

Book Summary: The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy

TheAnxietyInfo Self-Help Books , , , , , , ,
Book Summary: The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy

The Compound Effect: Jump start Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy, publisher and editorial director of SUCCESS magazine has not only written one of the best sellers of New York Times and Wall Street Journal but also has created a plain-spoken practical guide to creating clear goals and undertaking the necessary to attain powerful results. Being in the self-improvement industry for quite some time, his book sums up on practical lessons on exactly how you can change your life.

self-help-book-summary-anxiety

It is common for people to try to quickly fix or take one major step and expect to overcome all their problems and challenges. In his book, Darren Hardy explains that the key to success in any aspect of your life is controlling and making use of the power of the Compound Effect, which is the effect of small, consistent choices and the daily disciplines that compound over time, ultimately leading us to success – or to disaster, being subject to our choices.

In the summary of The Compound Effect below, you will be able to pick up on what the book is all about and what lessons you can draw from it. 

Driving the Compound Effect into Action

The opening chapter of the book is focused on the power of the compound effect. As you may be familiar with this from finance, compound interest leads to astoundingly huge returns where a penny doubling each day for 30 days ends up being worth over $15million. Darren discusses the concept called “The Magic Penny” where you are given a choice between taking a million dollars in hand or waiting 30 days as a penny double each day.

Likewise, in our private life, small changes upheld consistently over a while leads to surprisingly drastic results. Consuming 120 fewer calories each day for a year would result in losing 10 – 12 pounds. Another great example would be taking out 30 minutes each day to read, which over a year can lead to drastic self-improvement.

Remarkably, changes in one area of your life can compound with other areas, what Darren Hardy calls “the Ripple Effect.” For instance, consuming a little more healthy food each day may lead to feeling more energetic, which encourages a little more exercise, which improves personal relationships and mood. One small alteration can lead to a lot of other benefits, which together form an overall drastic personal change.

Also, The Compound Effect works in reverse as well – one small bad habit leads to a huge problem over some time. One single habit can ripple into other areas, leading to problems.

The notion of small changes compounding over some time can be weighed against the big and sudden changes. Extending on the exercise example, people usually announce a big goal and start with extreme practices like going to the gym daily which often is unsustainable, like missing a few sessions, getting discouraged, and stopping. In comparison, small changes build consistency and momentum forming new habits that can be maintained for years.

The principle is simple, however simple certainly doesn’t mean easy. The steps you will take will be insignificant but not the reward.

 “Small, Smart Choices+ Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE.”

Each chapter in this book provides an insight into the fundamental principles of the Compound Effect that will assist you to generate renewed habits and behaviors and propel toward success.

You Make Your Choices, and Your Choices Make You!

When you’re mindful of your choices, you will be able to make a sequence of small good decisions that lead to the habits and behaviors that support a successful and happy life.

“Our choices can be our best friend or our worst enemy. They can deliver us to our goals or send us orbiting into a galaxy far, far away.”

Outlined below are guidelines from the book when it comes to making good choices:

  • Gratitude – concentrating on things you are thankful for builds a Compound Effect of positivity.
  • 100% Responsibility – taking 100% responsibility for yourself enables you to get a grip on limitless power to control your destiny.
  • Grab advantage of Luck – a mix of preparation, attitude, opportunity, and action is the sort of luck that can be connected with success. 
  • Tracking – by tracking your behavior you can get control over your choices.

It’s never too late to practise the power of the Compound Effect, starting now is the key, irrespective of your age.

Habits and Goals

 “We are what we repeatedly do.”

Habits ultimately become who you are. The principle to success is building several good habits that you will follow on a daily basis.

You = Choice (decision) + Behaviour (Action) + Habit (repeated Action) + Compounded = Goals

This chapter provides strategies to recognize your habits through tracking, getting rid of bad habits, and crafting positive ones.

Finding Momentum

Momentum, Darren Hardy refers to this as the “Big Mo” in the book, is an influential force for success. Momentum does not arise effortlessly, but as soon as it kicks in, your capability to achieve success compounds rapidly.

This chapter discusses how you can build momentum for your life to take off. When your habits become routine, you get into a rhythm which makes your routine feel natural and easy, and the momentum gets a chance to work.

Understand What’s Influencing You

We are all accountable for the choices we make, but it’s essential to understand that those choices are influenced by powerful external factors. Three powerful influences that affect you as discussed by Darren Hardy are; input (what you feed your mind), associations (who we associate with) and environment (your surroundings). Actionable steps are discussed on how you can alter the three influences to your advantage.

Acceleration – Breaking Through to Greater Success

In order to attain success, there will be times when you will face hardships and you will need to find courage and stamina to push through. Darren Hardy discusses the notion of acceleration in detail and highlights it is about going above and beyond.

What I Like About This Book

The Compound Effect is a comprehensive guide to achieving success with practical content that is relatable to many people and applicable in all facets of our lives. Above all, I appreciate how this book does not overload you with ideas and leave you hanging on what to do next, the author concludes each chapter with a checklist of questions and activities that put the significant learnings into action straightaway. Together with this, there are also extra material references through the book that directs readers to unrestricted online resources. What also strikes as noteworthy, this book is the result of Darren Hardy’s personal experiences and exploration. He has applied the principles mentioned in this book to his life and the great success that his achieved is evident today.

Why You Should Read the Book

This is a life changing book for anybody that is interested in long term success. The small choices you make irrespective of it being good or bad, it compounds over a period of time and affects your life significantly.

“doing a little extra every day and you will end up with alot over years”.

The Compound Effect is a detailed self-help guide providing the tools to get you on track and take control of your life. Not only the steps mentioned are highly actionable, but this book is what pulls you out of the instant fulfillment circle that is taking over many people today.

Neurofolin – L-Methylfolate for Dietary Management of Depression

TheAnxietyInfo Anxiety Disorder, Anxiety Medication, Depression , , , , ,
Neurofolin – L-Methylfolate for Dietary Management of Depression

Neurofolin is an item of nourishment for the special medicinal purposes that provides nutritional support in the management of depression. The main content of Neurofolin is L-Methylfolate which is an active form of folate found to be deficient in individuals experiencing depressive disorders. It nutritionally supports by creating mood-regulating neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. Neurofolin has shown to be a promising adjunct therapy as it has successfully been used together with depression’s primary treatment, anti-depression medicine

Individuals with depressive disorders can experience a treatment that is partially effective at relieving their depression and some that cause unbearable side effects. It is likely it may be treatment-resistant depression where symptoms have not improved after being treated for depression.  In situations like this, it is best to work closely with your psychiatrist to explore options like supplementing with L-Methylfolate.

How does Neurofolin work?

Neurofolin has been precisely formulated for the nutritional support of depression management and contains 15mg of L-Methylfolate – an active form of folate.

Folate is a B-group vitamin and like all B vitamins, folate plays a vital role in maintaining the well-being of the nervous system and aids in processing fats and carbohydrates.  In addition to other health complications, folate deficiency can be associated with the development of the major depressive disorder (MDD). In fact, studies have successfully linked folate deficiency to depression.

Regular folic acid cannot cross the blood-brain barrier and need to be transformed to L-Methylfolate in the body before entering the brain, Neurofolin, on the other hand, contains the L-Methylfolate which avoids this step and directly crosses the blood-brain carrier. Once in the brain, L-Methylfolate helps to produce a vital cofactor called BH4 which is involved in the creation of key neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and epinephrine that is found to be deficient in individuals with major depressive disorder.

What are the Benefits of Neurofolin?

  • Provides access to faster and an active form of folate
  • Proficient strength as it is available in 15mg doses
  • Provides brain and mood support as L-Methyfolate is significant for the production of neurotransmitters related to sleep, concentration, energy, and mood stability.
  • Well tolerated when added to anti-depressant therapy
  • Adjunctive treatment for depression, making it a positive addition to depression management 

Highlighted below are two examples of how people have benefited from the dietary supplement:

  • By taking L-Methylfolate, Colbey’s mental health showed significant improvement and after five months the symptoms had reduced significantly.
  • Neurofolin is seen as a major development for depression sufferers in Australia.

What are the side effects of taking L-Methylfolate?

L-Methylfolate is generally well tolerated when taken in normal doses, however, it can cause a reaction in some people, particularly when taken in high doses. Some of the common side effects include bloating, sleeping difficulties, and nausea. Other possible reactions to L-Methylfolate, especially when taken in a higher quantity include irritability, abdominal pain, decreased appetite, problem staying focused, and feelings of discomfort. Some of the serious side effects which need to be immediately reported to your health care provider include seizures, confusion, or numbness. Mentioned above are most of the side effects, but not all, your health care provider will be able to confer a comprehensive list with you.

Guidelines for Use

Neurofolin being a water-soluble diet supplement comes as an effervescent powder in 15g sachets. Each sachet can be consumed once daily by completely dissolving in 200ml of normal temperature or chilled water, taking note that it needs to be stirred briskly and consumed straightaway.

Where to Buy:

OUT OF STOCK

Conclusion

To sum up, it is important for individuals with depressive symptoms to be examined by a mental health professional and also advisable to seek professional medical advice before self-administering Neurofolin. There is certainly an affirmative global trend in depression treatment towards augmenting medications with particular nutritional support to increase the number of individuals who benefit.

5 Tips on How to Calm Anxiousness

TheAnxietyInfo Anxiety Disorder , , ,
5 Tips on How to Calm Anxiousness

1. Understand your anxiety

The first step in learning how to calm your anxiousness is by understanding what triggers it. Feeling anxious is a thinking pattern we experience when our mind fixates on uncertainty, threat, and negativity. While worrying is completely normal, it is the hypothetical worries (‘what if’ thoughts) that we focus excessively on that’s unhelpful. It’s worth noting that you cannot stop the occurrence of hypothetical worries, but you can control your response to them.

One of the ways to understand your emotions is through expressive writing, where you allocate a fixed amount of time each day to write out how you are feeling. By expressing your emotions onto paper, you will be able to identify a pattern and know what to take action on. Getting things out of your head can clear your mind and make it simpler to work through your concerns one by one.

2. Challenge your anxious thoughts

We can influence the process of how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors constantly affect each other and develop negative patterns. The best way to deal with these unaccommodating thoughts is to recognize them, challenge them, and see if you can replace them. It is often referred to as ‘Catch It’, ‘Check It’ and ‘Change It’ approach. Psychologist Mark Taylor mentions this in his blog as the 3 Cs of Cognitive Therapy.

  • Catch – the thought which originated before the emotion.
  • Check – reflect on how useful the thought is or if there is evidence for it.
  • Change – change the thought to a positive or a more accurate one.

With practice, this can help us to look at perceived problems from a different viewpoint. For instance, you might be worried about an important task which you have to do at work and are convinced it will go wrong and you will be called a failure. Rather than instantly accepting this and feeling even worse, take a minute to Catch It, Check It, and Change It by questioning yourself whether there is sufficient proof or any other explanation for you to be feeling that way. Also, question yourself what advice would you give to a friend in a similar situation. Lastly, see if you can change the negative thought to a positive one, such as ‘I’m prepared’ or ‘I have a lot of work to do but will try to do my best’. There are times when you will be able to change your thought to a positive one and not so at other times. It’s about training to think flexibly and being more in control; It’s about breaking the cycle.

3. Designate a focused time

the-worry-tree-img

Worrying can leave you feeling anxious, which is why making time for your worries is crucial. When you feel like your worries are taking over your day, you can manage this by scheduling yourself some worry time. For instance, when worry arises during the day, think that you will set this aside for your designated worry time. What this does is shifts your focus back to the present rather than on your worry. During the designated time, a structured technique, called the Worry Tree, can be effectively used to focus on solutions rather than escalating your negative thoughts.

4. Induce the relaxation response

The term “Relaxation Response” was coined by Dr. Herbert Benson in 1975. In his book, The Relaxation Response, Dr. Benson describes many benefits of relaxation, explaining that consistent practice can be an effective treatment for anxiety.

Outlined below are some of the most effective strategies for inducing the relaxation response in your body. You can experience deep relaxation and inner peace by choosing one of the following and practicing it once or twice a day. Morning would be considered the best time to do this, allocating about 15 to 30 minutes of your time.

Meditation is considered a great stress reliever as it works quite well for calming the body and mind and assists you in building resilience. As a beginner, you may have difficulty comprehending it, but trying different mediation techniques and also having realistic expectations will help.

  • Breathing exercises

Breathing exercises are highly suggested as it can work to calm the body at any time and place. Different types of breathing exercises can be practiced, so it would be a great idea to try a few. Diaphragmatic, or belly breathing, is the most beneficial as it encourages full oxygen exchange, leaving you feeling completely relaxed.

  • Progressive muscle relaxation

A state of physical relaxation is achieved by tensing and relaxing different groups of muscles in your body. Initially, this anxiety-reduction technique would require a little time and practice, but once mastered, you will be able to relax your body within minutes.

  • Yoga

Yoga utilizes breath and movement to relax and alleviate the mind and invite more ease into the body. If you are new to yoga, it is recommended to begin under the guidance of a certified instructor, but there are also simple, gentle poses that can be practiced at home.

5. Shift your focus

Distraction activities can be an effective method to calm your anxiousness as it redirects your mind off your current emotions. These activities will help you feel happier, energized, and motivated. However, the activity must be attention absorbing to successfully reduce anxiety.

Mentioned below are a few tactics to distract yourself. Negative thoughts are not the easiest to deal with, but anything positive that you can do to break the vicious cycle will make a lot of difference.

  • Participating in a creative pursuit

You may find yourself feeling relaxed when you give your creative side a chance to express itself. Some activities may include making art or crafts.

  • Use entertainment

Watching undemanding TV programs, something that doesn’t require much effort but enough to distract you. Or you could rediscover old music you loved when you were a teen. Listening to music may help you feel calmer. Read something that interests you or a magazine that you enjoy. Playing video games can be excellent for distraction as well.

  • Puzzles

Puzzles can be considered a great way to distract your negative thoughts with simple problem-solving. You can start with easy crosswords or jigsaw. It’s a good idea not to set time limits, however, take breaks in between if it becomes too frustrating.

  • Pampering

Your body needs to be looked after as it is physically drained just like your mind. As such, trivial pampering tasks like painting your nails, taking a long relaxing bath, or treating yourself to a neck massage helps divert the mind as well as rejuvenate the body and calm anxiousness.

Ways to Make Self-Isolation a Positive Experience

TheAnxietyInfo Anxiety Disorder , , ,
Ways to Make Self-Isolation a Positive Experience

It all gets more depressing as we seclude ourselves in our homes, bombarded with concerns around our financial situation, among many others. Self-isolation and depression are positively correlated, hence you simply cannot let it overtake your emotions.

People are anxious, having to deal with both the health and economic crisis that is looming over us. While some things remain out of your control, there are these things that you can take charge of and improve your future circumstances.

It is amazing how Og Mandino in his famous book “The Greatest Salesman in the World” puts it:

“Flowers bloom; flowers fade.
Seeds are sown; harvests are reaped.
All nature is a circle of moods and I am a part of nature and so, like the tides, my moods will rise; my moods will fall.
But today I will be the master of my emotions”

We must master these emotions to ensure each day spent in self-isolation is not depressing but productive.

1. Reboot and re-plan your future

Grab this time and rethink your existing skills, qualifications, and relevance in the future, or if this is the time to make the necessary switch to ensure that we are well braced when such a crisis hits us in the future.

Now is the time to re-train and acquire skills in the sectors where there are skills shortages such as Nursing, Teaching, IT, Trades & Construction. It does not have to be a fully-fledged degree or master’s programs, simple short courses which are offered free during this crisis will tremendously elevate your chances to come out stronger after the end of all this.

2. Self-development

In this time of adversity, you can develop a better version of yourself through ongoing personal growth. Changing the focus from things happening around us will not only ensure that we remain calm, but it will also allow us to focus on things that make a difference in a good way.

Time is not an excuse anymore. Now that we are locked down into our homes, everyone suddenly has more free time. The worst thing anyone can do is waste time worrying about things that are way beyond their control.

Force yourself to employ growth mindset and engage into:

  • Communicating to strengthen relationships.
  • Reading to learn, especially self-development books such as; “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie to help you get out there and make your life more rewarding.
  • Listening to podcasts and motivational speakers.
  • Focusing on things that add value to your life.

Invest this time in yourself to make a marked difference in YOU to take a major step in your progression.

3. Exercise/Walk:

The biggest reason why we do not get enough exercise is generally presumed to be lack of time. We can safely say for now that we have an abundance of that.

Even if you are not a fan of intensive workouts, small and consistent effort will motivate you to build good habits, guaranteeing long term success.

You can do your backyard gardening, lawn-mowing, long walks to the park or even fun yard games with your kids to keep your fitness in check. Such forms of physical exercise will be less daunting and easy to action.

For more advanced ones, with gyms now closed, you can get going with your daily press-ups, sit-ups, aerobics or Zumba workouts.

Exercise will help you regulate your anxiety levels during these tough times.

4. Work towards earning a passive income to expand your risk horizon

This enforced seclusion may help you built something significant. These could simply be:

  • Affiliate programs with major networks such as Amazon or E-bay.
  • Exploring your freelancing options on Upwork and Fiverr.
  • Set up on Air B&B and rent out a spare room.
  • Step into a totally different career and sign up for some short courses and test your ability.
  • Startup a blog website. There are so many options out there to get your website set-up through engaging a creative yet affordable web developer.

Use the existing scenario to your advantage and brainstorm ideas on how you can generate passive income while working for your 9 to 5 job.

With thousands made redundant over the past few weeks, it is high time we contemplate seriously on getting a side income to supplement our existing earning capacity.

5. Avoid watching too much news on television and social media

While it is acceptable and necessary to keep abreast with the current news especially the updates on coronavirus pandemic, the heavy indulgence will create fear and anxiousness among us. And you will end up being depressed about items as futile as these:

  • Whether others are following the social distancing rule
  • The amount of toilet paper at the store
  • How long will this pandemic last
  • Whether the government will provide much-needed assistance or not

Letting go of things that we cannot control is the best bet when it comes to mastering your emotions.

Rather, switch your attention to things we can control:

  • My positive attitude
  • My own social distancing
  • My kindness and grace
  • Turning off the news
  • Finding fun things to do at home
  • Limiting my social media

Always remember that the more you think negatively about something, the more you are attached to it.

Bonus Tip: Listen to music

As simple as it sounds, music provides the much-needed respite to our brain following the absorption of more than needed information, particularly the worrying news.

Music instantly uplifts your mood, especially happy music. Most importantly, if you are trying to implement something new in your daily routines like exercising, music gives you that boost in motivation.

It is also demonstrated through research that if you are trying to do something which you don’t highly like or enjoy, then pairing it with something else that uplifts you will get you better results in accomplishing those tasks.

To encapsulate this, unpleasant feelings merely indicate that you are excessively influenced by your negative thoughts and believing it. It is very easy to break the positive relationship between self-isolation and depression by changing the way we think.