3 Tips To Help Deal With Omicron Anxiety

In the last few weeks, we had seen a rise in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant. The news of even newer Coronavirus variants has also probably triggered anxiety about the future. Here’s how you can maintain your mental health while taking precautions for the Omicron variant.

What you should know:

1. Basic mental health practices to follow
2. Coping mechanisms that should be avoided
3. Importance of seeking professional help

1. Basic mental health practices to follow

Your mental health is based on different factors. It depends on your body, mind and surroundings too. Here is how you can manage different aspects of your life to stay mentally healthy and avoid anxiety:

To keep your body healthy

This includes staying physically healthy with exercise, diet, and much more.

• Exercise for half an hour a day (walking, breathing exercises, cardio, etc.)
• Follow healthy eating habits and avoid binge eating
• Get adequate sleep of 8-9 hours daily
• Take small breaks from work to avoid sitting for long hours
• Limit the amount of screen time

However, you should avoid exercising if you notice any Omicron symptoms.

To keep your mind healthy

Being mindful is an important step for your overall well-being. This will include meditation and breathing exercises to calm your mind. You can also try writing in a journal at the end of the day to organise your thoughts on a daily basis which may help ease your mind.

To keep your emotions in check

Controlling your emotions does not mean you pretend to be happy all the time. Instead, you can accept and analyse the emotions you feel. Talking to your near and dear ones can also help process your emotions.

To keep your mindset positive

Even though it might be difficult during the lockdown, stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Find ways to connect remotely with people who can improve your mood or calm you down. Try to make time for your hobbies and channel your energy in a positive way.

2. Coping mechanisms that should be avoided

It is good to follow healthy mental health practices. However, it is even more important to know what habits are bad for your mental health. Here are some addictive practices that should be avoided as much as possible, especially during the lockdown:

• Binge eating

Binge eating or overeating can be a common coping mechanism to reduce anxiety. Often the food choices tend to be unhealthy. While this might reduce your stress in the short term, it will cause you more problems in the long run.

• Doom scrolling

We often spend too much time on our phones scrolling through social media and news unconsciously. It is important to know about critical news and updates. However, doom scrolling through all the bad news like rising case numbers can be unhealthy. Remember to only check trusted news sources once a day and limit your screen time.

• Developing harmful habits

Another coping mechanism can be unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking too much alcohol among others. These addictions can lead to serious health concerns and should be avoided at all costs.

3. Importance of seeking professional help

For people who have had mental health concerns even before the pandemic, the last two years have only made things worse. The number of restrictions imposed during the lockdown can also lead to mental exhaustion in families.

In such cases, the news about Omicron in India or a lockdown can trigger anxiety that is difficult to control. Professional help and therapy are available online to help you cope with anxiety.

If you are unvaccinated and are facing vaccine anxiety, here is what you should know.