How To Decrease Stress & Anxiety During A Pandemic
As crazy as the world is right now, it’s no surprise that the pandemic has wreaked havoc on everyone’s mental health. Not only are we stuck at home, but we’ve got to deal with all the uncertainty and stress that comes from living in a pandemic.
Over time, that stress can manifest in various ways - from decreased productivity and sleepless nights to physical symptoms like headaches and fatigue.
Fortunately, you don’t have to just grit your teeth and bear it - there are plenty of ways to help decrease stress during the pandemic, and promote overall health and wellness. The rituals below can go a long way in bringing you out of your overwhelmed mind, and back into your body.
Create a Morning Routine
While the world may feel chaotic right now, your day-to-day life doesn’t have to. The right morning routine will help you start your day in the right headspace, and help you practice good self-care habits, especially when it comes to motherhood or women’s health. Although you can tweak your ritual to what feels right for your body, here are some practical steps for your morning routine that’ll help shift your energy.
Download my Morning Pages Worksheet: A great way to remind yourself of what you’re grateful for is by recording it on paper. For a guided approach, I recommend downloading my free morning pages worksheet at the end of this article.
Hydrate and Get Sunlight When You Wake Up: Although you may not be able to do much in public, that doesn’t mean you still can’t get a little sunlight and Vitamin D. Including water and movement during your morning routine is crucial, and there are a couple ways you can do this. Whether you’re a runner or not, you might take a morning jog, or just go for a leisurely walk. Or, if cardio doesn’t appeal to you, you can always just drink a glass of water on your porch, and spend a little time listening to the sounds of nature.
Create Affirmations: A great way to keep your energy centered on what you want to achieve is through affirmations. Grab a couple of sticky notes, write down the goals you want to achieve for the day, and stick them in someplace you know you’ll see them - like a bathroom mirror, your desk, or even the fridge.
Hold Gratitude for Your Food: It’s important to be mindful about your food, and that begins with gratitude. Each time you sit down to eat, take a moment and pause in gratitude. As simple as this practice is, it’s a reminder that your body and your mind deserves nourishment.
Include a Night Routine
Starting the day off on the right foot is important, but it’s just as essential to end it the right way too. Try practicing some of these self-care habits below to find a night routine that decreases stress for your body.
Wash off the Stress of the Day: End the night with a warm, hot shower that lets the stress and anxiety of the day melt off your body. If you want, incorporate essential or herbal oils like lavender or chamomile to help you relax even more.
Full Body Self-Love Massage: Giving yourself a self-love massage is a great way to reconnect with your own body, and increase circulation. A self-massage can happen while you’re in the shower, or once you get out and you’re winding down before bedtime.
Brain Dump: At the end of the day, your brain may be full of every worry or concern that got thrown at you. Whether it’s work, family, or even just the state of the world that’s stressing you out, record these thoughts onto paper.
Guided Meditation: After a long day, meditating can feel challenging, but a guided meditation session from a podcast, video, or a professional is sure to put you back on the right track.
Don’t Forget About Nutrition
Your body thrives off the nourishment you give it, but if you’re not feeding it well, it can begin to impact your mind. Here are a couple of tips for using nutrition to decrease stress:
Go organic to cut out the toxin trigger stress response. Chronically, stress can be toxic to our bodies, and even damage our cellular structure if it goes untreated long enough. Going organic and feeding your body all-natural, healthy foods is one way to help cut out that toxin trigger stress response.
Decrease inflammation by cutting out dairy and gluten, and increasing your intake of anti-inflammatory foods like coconut oil, berries, and key herbs and spices.
Add in superfoods like Ashwagandha, reishi, chaga and magnesium, which can naturally help your body manage stress.
Decrease your caffeine intake, and switch from coffee to a healthier alternative like matcha.
Consider adding in digestive enzymes to keep your digestive system in tip-top shape.
Although the pandemic has made the world feel overwhelming for everyone, you don’t have to let that stress control your life. Managing your stress often begins with simple and practical tips like the ones I’ve listed above - so, don’t forget about taking care of your body during these troubling times.