Managing Your Stress During This Time of COVID-19

The ability to manage stress is vital to your personal and professional success in life. Right now, with all that’s happening in the world, the ability to manage stress is vital to your survival during COVID-19.

Psychologists say that if you live a more balanced life, you will experience greater success in the long run.

Now, more than ever, calls for living a balanced life. The various stresses which have come along with this unexpected pandemic have caused many professionals to feel unbalanced.

In an effort to help you regain your balance, here are a few recommended techniques you can use to manage your stress during this time of COVID-19: 

BREATHE: make time throughout the day to do deep breathing exercises. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth several times in a day. This process will help you to increase the oxygen in your blood. When oxygenated blood flows to your brain, it helps to make you feel more peaceful and less stressed. 

EXERCISE: get regular exercise to boost your energy and overall sense of well-being. Whether you work out with a Pilates video in your living room; lift weights in your basement; join an aerobics class via Zoom; or take a walk around your neighborhood, a regular exercise routine will help to make your mind and body feel better. Another good benefit of a regular exercise routine is that it will also help to improve your self-esteem. A high level of self-esteem makes you feel good about yourself. When you feel good about yourself, you feel as if you can handle whatever comes your way. Make it a habit during COVID-19 to engage in regular exercise.

ENJOY SANCTUARY TIME: carve out time in your day and designate a special place in your home for sanctuary time. This will be time for you and you alone. Sanctuary time lets you take moments for yourself. Spend your sanctuary time in a spot that gives you a renewed sense of peace. Your sanctuary time can be first thing in the morning as you wash up in the bathroom; during the middle of the day as you meditate in your office; or later in the evening as you unwind in your living room. As long as you have private time to meditate, plan, and find peace, your sanctuary time can be whenever and wherever you decide. Commit to enjoying sanctuary time on several occasions within your week.

VISIT WITH LOVED ONES: maintain your personal and professional relationships during this time. Even though social distancing has become the norm, you can still connect with your family, friends, and colleagues. Sure, you will be using technology a lot more to connect with them now. The goal is to spend time engaged in conversation, laugher and connections to keep your spirits lifted. Phone calls, text messages, face-time sessions, Zoom meetings, and virtual parties are all ways you can visit with loved ones right now. Make a commitment to yourself to visit with a loved one each week until this pandemic is over.

COVID-19 has brought many unexpected issues with it which has knocked the balance out of the life of many professionals. The unbalance is causing professionals to be stressed out.

The four (4) stress management techniques described in this article are intended to help you regain levels of balance and eliminate sources of stress in your life. 

Test them out and let them work for you.