IMPORTANCE OF POSITIVE
THINKING DURING COVID -19 PANDEMIC
The
COVID-19 pandemic is challenging us in ways we could never have imagined, from
unprecedented amounts of family time to homeschooling to working remotely—or
not working at all. These sudden, rapid changes in the way we live, coupled
with uncertainty, can feel overwhelming. While we may know that it’s helpful
for everyone to stay positive, it’s sometimes easier said than done. Here are
some suggestions for uplifting your outlook:
Remember it will not be this way forever. This is a
difficult time, but it is just that — a time.
Recognize what you are doing well and give yourself credit. It may be tough right now,
but you have managed some things really well. Think about the physical,
logistical, mental, and emotional struggles you may have encountered in the
last few months, and the good—even great—way you approached and handled those
challenges.
WHAT IS
POSITIVE THINKING
Positive
thinking, is the practice of focusing on the good in any given situation. It
can have a big impact on your physical and mental health.
That doesn’t mean you ignore reality or make light of problems. It
simply means you approach the good and the bad in life with the expectation
that things will go well.
THE
BENEFITS OF POSITIVE THINKING IN COVID 19PANDEMIC
Many studies have looked at the role of positive thinking in
mental and physical health. It’s not always clear which comes first: the
mindset or these benefits. But there is no downside to staying upbeat.
Some physical benefits may include:
- Longer life span
- Lower chance of having
a heart attack
- Better
physical health
- Greater
resistance to illness such as the common cold
- Lower blood pressure
- Better stress management
- Better pain tolerance
The mental benefits may include:
- More
creativity
- Greater
problem-solving skill
- Clearer
thinking
- Better
mood
- Better
coping skills
- Less depression
How you apply positive thinking
Changing everything you’ve
learned in a life is not easy, imposing a positive thinking starting today
thinking that that this will attract positive things in your life is not that
simple. To change these negative patterns I recommend these exercises and
practices. For me and the people I have chosen in my life works!
1. Use positive words when talking. If you constantly say “I can not” you could convince yourself that
it’s true. Replace negative words with positive ones. Tell yourself that you do
everything possible to have a happy relationship, tell yourself that you do
everything possible to have a brilliant career, tell yourself that you do
everything possible to keep you in shape.
2. Remove all the feelings that are not positive! Do not let negative thoughts and feelings conquer when you have a
bad mood. Even if for a few hours a day, remove negativity and focus on the
positive things in your life.
3. Use words that evoke strength and success. Fill your thoughts with words that make you feel strong, happy,
having control over your life. Make an effort to focus on these words rather
than the ones that suggest failure or incompetence.
4. Practice positive affirmations. One of the most common exercises for a positive thinking is
positive affirmation. What does that mean? Start repeating a positive phrase
like “I deserve to be happy” or “I deserve to be loved.” Believing that these
statements are true and repeating them always will impose a more positive opinion about
your life.
5. Redirect your thoughts! This method used by psychotherapists helps you control your
thoughts when you start to feel negative emotions like depression or anxiety.
How can you do that? When you feel a such emotion taking hold on you start
generating a happy mind, a positive image, something that makes you feel better
to keep your negative feelings under control.
6. Start thinking you will succeed! Nothing compares with self confidence that creates a successful
reality. Put your doubts aside and believe that you will succeed in meeting the
objectives.
7. Analyze what went wrong. Positive thinking is not about denying that nothing can go wrong.
Instead take the time to see what went wrong and what led to the current
situation in order to avoid future mistakes and look forward more positive.
8. Forgive you! ‘re Always arguing for things
that went wrong will not change anything. Tell yourself you are forgive and
allow you to move on.
9. Think of a failure as an opportunity. Sometimes the most negative things in our lives give us
opportunities that we may not have seen otherwise. For example losing your job
can be a good opportunity to open your own business or go back to school!
10. Working at your imagination / visualization. Visualizing what you want to achieve or the person you want to
be can be a great motivation to take you there and make you think more
positively
HOW TO STAY POSITIVE DURING
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
1.
Limit your media intake
Sure we still need
to take in the appropriate government guidance regarding what steps to take
next but it’s seriously damaging to our mental health and mood to be absorbing
unnecessary amounts of negative and low energy conversation. There’s a heavy
amount of fear circling at the moment and it’s very hard to not get caught up
in. Fear will not change the situation, it will weaken your fight against the
situation. Protect yourself as much as you can from conversations, environments
and technology that will engulf you in these frequencies.
Being completely
absorbed in the media during this time will do you no good. There are very few
people that can spend hours and hours in front of negativity without feeling
the impact. If you’re feeling a little low in mood, limit your media intake to
10-15 minutes at the end of the day to get the updates and please, continue
with your day.
2.
Use this time for self care.
This is possibly the
biggest silver lining that I see in this whole situation. Our day-to-day
distractions have mostly now been removed (self quarantine life) and we are
being encouraged to look a little closer to home to keep ourselves afloat,
mentally and emotionally. Self care and habits like meditation are often pushed
to the side in our busy lives but now I truly believe the universe is asking us
to do this work.
3. Take responsibility for speaking and sharing positively to your
peers.
It’s all so easy to
say that our individual contribution doesn’t have an impact, but this virus is evidence
that we are all in this together and our efforts individually and collectively
go a long way.
Let’s focus on the
positives as much as we can. Share posts, captions and comments that are
positive. Positive attracts positive. Let’s spread it. Positive thoughts and
emotions are known to increase your immune system, also giving you an increased
power in overcoming the virus should it come your way.
4. Cherish time with the
people around you and deepen connections.
Whether you’re back
at home quarantining with family, living with friends, your dog or all by
yourself, deepen those connections. Ask questions you never ask. Ask how this
time is affecting you and them and pull together with whoever and whatever you
have.
I for one usually
have a very busy life and my time with friends and family has increased
significantly since this Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic started. Would I have
said no to this much work and got to spend this much time with them otherwise?
Most likely not…
6. Look after your immunity and stick to the rules, knowing that’s the
best you can do.
Staying well during
isolation- what can I do?
Our behaviors influence how we think and
interpret situations but also how we can feel (physically and
emotionally). With the country or state in lock down and lots of people
in isolation, the things we usually do have changed considerably and some of us
may have a completely new daily routine… or lack of routine to deal with.
Have you thought about how this might change how you think and feel or
have you already seen a difference? Have you thought about what you could do
to help yourself? See below for an example:
As you can see in the cycle above, all the areas are
connected and influence each other. It’s understandable to feel worried
about what’s going on and even a little upset that you can’t do as much as you
usually would. Things, for a time are going to be restricted. However,
it’s really important that at this time we focus more on the things that
we can still do, rather than those things that we can’t.
So what can you do?
A tried and tested
technique to help keep your motivation and mood lifted is to keep a weekly
planner which includes routine, necessary and enjoyable activities for
yourself. So in this sense, you can follow a plan and not your
mood. Staying engaged in a routine and with activities will keep those “feel
good” chemicals in your brain flowing which help to naturally lift your
mood and will also create opportunities for positive experiences for
yourself. Planning activities can help to create a sense of achievement,
purpose and even closeness with those around you.
Putting it into practice…
To begin the process we
start by making a list of activities in our life that we both need and want to
do. It’s really important at this stage to focus on what is still
possible for you. Of course it’s disappointing and frustrating that
places we love to visit are closed and we don’t have the same freedoms as we
are used to. It may be helpful to write at the top of your planner ‘this
is temporary’ or even design a planner of things that you plan to do
once the restrictions have been lifted. But for now, focus only on the
things within your control and within your capabilities.
|
ROUTINE
Things
that you would do as part of your day to day life. May include things
like washing up, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, tidying,
exercising.
|
NECESSARY
These
could overlap with routine tasks but can usually be differentiated due
to being time sensitive. Include things like paying bills,
attending appointments, going to work.
|
ENJOYABLE
Things
that you do for fun. Activities that bring you joy, have value to them,
give you a sense of purpose or help you to blow off steam.
|
|
|
|
Making a plan
Once you’ve got your list of activities it’s time to
start making a plan of when you’re going to do these. As we mentioned
earlier, the reason why we make plans is because we’re much more likely to
stick with a concrete commitment than if we’re following the lead of our
mood
How is this going to
keep me feeling good?
As we saw earlier, avoiding activities can cause us to
fall into a cycle where we feel low, lose our motivation and energy,
think badly of ourselves and find it hard to do the things we usually enjoy or
need to do. When we stick to a routine and engage in a balance of
necessary and fun activities- even if we don’t feel like doing them at
the start- we break ourselves out of this cycle of low mood and start a
cycle of good mood.
