This pandemic challenged the world, troubled the economy, and tested the people in so many ways.
But today, I will talk about Mental Health.
During the burst of the Covid-19 virus, most of us, if not all, experienced the toll it was taking.
Our finances, jobs, homes, relationships, businesses, and state of mind faced difficulties.
Some just kept their head above water, and businesses were hanging by a thread. And sadly, some lost their lives, and others have lost many other essential matters, like jobs and relationships.
Anxiety and depression were already existing even before the pandemic. But the pervasive event that put us into locked downs made us feel isolated and even lonelier. According to Forbes.com, anxiety and depression had likely doubled during the pandemic.
And I wasn’t an exemption. So, how did I survive the loneliness during the Pandemic? Through journaling and meditation.
I am not saying that only through meditation and journaling will you magically get rid of your loneliness and anxieties. Your willpower is still needed to get through what you are currently dealing with. Perhaps you are still in your post-pandemic phase and have not yet totally recovered from the effect on your mental health in this pandemic. Meditating and writing on your journals may sound so easy, as they are, but the only thing challenging is keeping consistency on high. These practices can really help you during hard times.
The Power of Meditation and Journaling
Let's begin by understanding what meditation can do to us.
Our mind is one of the most unique and powerful organs we have in both internal function and the outer aspect. Your creativity, critical thinking, and ability to analyze problems and situations are all by the power of your bright brain.
The level of awareness and how you perceive life is being established in your equipped mind.
But however gifted our brains are, having the ability to think also comes with some downsides. We tend to overthink. We are stressed out with so many thoughts in our heads, and we get overwhelmed by the problems we couldn't figure out. Most of all, the mind drives our emotions crazy over the incessant voices in our heads. You just can't shut them up.
If we keep stressing out and get overwhelmed, it naturally affects our behavior. We get grumpy, and we can get irritated pretty easily. It affects your mood and performance, whether at work, school, or even just doing your chores at home. These lines, " I don't feel like doing it anymore. " or " I will do it tomorrow. I am no longer in the mood.", are the ultimate killer to your productivity, and if it keeps happening, you will likely triple your stress.
Why is Meditation helpful?
Our brain is like muscles. When you regularly workout and keep a healthy diet, you will develop or maintain nice-looking and tight glutes and a muscular physique. If you nurture and train your brain regularly, you will become more competent and learn how to assess your way of thinking better.
- Meditating helps you quiet your mind.
If you are constantly worried and tense, meditation may help you battle those. During meditation, you will empty what's inside your head and allow yourself to be present, and give attention to your body.
- Meditation eases off your anxiety.
I consider meditation as My Sweet Escape.
I grew up full of anxiety and fears. I was afraid of speaking or performing in front of the crowd, fearing that I might appear as a joke to the people and they might just laugh at me. Stage fright was one of many anxiety sources I have. The moment I initiate to meditate, I hear my inner voice saying " Here, no one and nothing can hurt me."
- It helps you improve your decision-making.
Because you let your mind rests, you get to see and understand your thoughts more clearly. If there are things that bother you or situations that give you a troubled mind, you will likely know how to address them better. Having a tranquil mind goes a long way.
- It helps you obtain inner peace.
Once you master meditating, you will understand that nothing else is significant but your peace of mind. You will learn to attend to your needs and fill your cup first before listening to anyone or something else.
- Better understanding who you are.
Many of us don't know our very own selves. You are not sure how you define yourself, and perhaps you are also uncertain of your life purpose. You may unlock your most authentic self and discover your life's calling by permitting yourself a quiet time.
How to meditate?
There are plenty of ways to meditate. Even washing dishes or cleaning your house can be a form of meditation, and all you have to do is be present and pay attention to your body and movement.
I practice Mindfulness Meditation in the morning and Yoga Meditation at night.
Yes, yoga is a meditative exercise too.
Here are the simple ways how to start.
Choose the kind of meditation you are more comfortable with. For beginners, guided meditation may work for you well.
Start meditating three minutes a day and gradually raise the time as you get used to it.
Find a comfortable space at home with minor to no disturbance.
Remember that your goal is to empty your busy mind and allow it to rest from loads of thoughts. This practice is quite challenging, for thoughts can creep back inside your head. But if that occurs, just simply acknowledge that it is there and let it go.
Lastly, meditation is about giving attention to your whole being and setting intentions for what you are trying to achieve as to why you meditate. Listen to the rhythm of your heartbeat and the flow of your breathing.
Who can benefit from meditating?
When to meditate?
Journaling preview
Suppose meditation allows you to take a break from many thoughts in your head. Journaling helps you unload all about what you are thinking or feeling, where it is your best platform to express wihout anyone judging you. If there are circumstances or people in your life constantly making your chest tight, and you are not sure how to deal with them. Journaling is one of the best resorts to express and let go of what is killing you inside. But this doesn’t mean that writing them down will resolve the matters for you. You still have to take action to rectify the problem. Unloading your emotions on your journals will help you internalize and understand the situation or gain wisdom.
P.S: Meditation and journaling are not only useful for your trying times but can be tools to celebrate your highs and an opportunity to reflect and be grateful.
Disclaimer: I am not a Psychologist nor a Therapist of some sort. What I am sharing is based on my life lessons, experiences, and inspirations from other remarkable life coaches and leaders.
Please feel free to write a comment and share a quick story about how you survived loneliness during the pandemic. It’s great that I can also learn from your inspiring stories.
You made it this far! Thank you for reading! That is all for me about Meditating.
Stay updated for Part 2: Journaling!
My message to you, my dear.😘
Never limit yourself to the good things you can have in life. Suppose you feel stuck right now and lost in what you want to do. Find the kind of kickstart that you need to move forward.
Imagine this.
YOU HAVE THE POWER TO REWRITE YOUR OWN LIFE STORY AND CARVE YOUR SCULPTURE.
Figuratively speaking, all you need is a pen and a notebook to rewrite your story and a sharp chisel to carve your life sculpture. What you just have to do is, pick them up and start working on yourself.
And before you know it.
YOU WILL BE IN AWE AT YOUR VERY OWN MASTERPIECE.
My heart is full of appreciation.🤗
I am excited to be part of the HIVE community and looking forward to getting to know all of you and hoping to build professional relationships.
Thank you for your support! 😍
Shacha Lad
Shacha is ardent regarding self-growth and believes in a much better version of each individual. She strives to become a master of her craft and aims to share her life learnings with people to contribute to communities.
Her personal motto is. "To become better that I was yesterday."
You may follow, leave a comment and even share suggestions you would like to read from her blog. Your support is much appreciated. 😘.
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:) kumusta! That's some good stuff to try. thanks. i'm really glad u found what works for u. I was already a big loner before covid, so all the privacy is cool with me. :P but yea, hive is good too since i see and read about what other people are up to.
@chinito I am glad to hear that you are already comfortable being by yourself. You know what they say, if you are comfortable being alone, congratulations! for you understand life.😂
Love,
Shacha
😎
Thank you so much for sharing such a detailed view into your meditative process. I've always found it difficult to meditate whenever I've tried, precisely because I couldn't turn off my thoughts... but you've broken down the steps into such simple and achievable goals I think I'll give them another try - thank you!
@misterrogers I am so happy hat I am able to help in the little ways. I was struggling with meditation the first time I was introduced to it. Little did I know before that I was doing a lot of stuff that was already a meditation. Day-dreaming is actually a form of meditation too! 😊 Let me know your progress with meditating and if there is any life transformation going. 😊
Love,
Shacha
I will definitely let you know how my progress goes! And if there is one thing I'm good at, it's daydreaming!!