MIND RESILIENCE: HOW TO IMPROVE IT
MIND RESILIENCE: HOW TO IMPROVE IT
Post by on Tuesday, June 8, 2021
By Dr.JankhanaHakani,
Consultant Psychiatrist &Counselor,
Mind Help Clinic, Fort,
Saifee Hospital, Charni Road,
Healthspring, Cuffe Parade.
mindhelpclinic@gmail.com
Â
“This is hard. Confined at home, going out only for essentials and
emergencies, being away from friends and family, working from home, stress of
losing my job, feeling lonely and many times helpless. I was just beginning to
accept this new way of life and trying to cope with past year’s losses when
there was another lockdown. My worry and stress is through the roof. I do not
know what to do. This is affecting my work and family life. My relationships
are strained. Watching news also makes me anxious,†said Mr Z.
Does this sound familiar? I am sure
that most of us are going through the same. What can we do? How do we cope? How
do we manage stress?
There is no denying that stress,
worries and problems are a part of our lives. One cannot and will never be able
to be 100% stress or worry free. We need to deal with it. Dealing with stress
and solving or managing the problems is important. However, coping and managing
in a constructive and positive way is vital.
The Negative
Coping Mechanisms that need to be observed and changed are reaching out to
drugs and alcohol, over eating, over sleeping, watching TV or playing video
games, blaming others, snapping and removing your anger on others. These are
destructive to our mental well-being. They may give temporary relief but, they
cause more destruction in the long run.
POSITIVE COPING MECHANISMS help improve MIND RESILIENCE.
MIND RESILIENCE is the ability and the
speed with which one can bounce back from tragedy or difficult situation, the
various ups and downs in life. Â It is a
very important brain function and varies for each individual. It tells us how
much we can cope and tolerate and how rapidly one can recover from any mental
injury.
Just like physical resilience which can
be improved by exercise, healthy eating habits and good sleep, mental resilience too has a scope in
improvement by practicing Positive Coping
Strategies.
6 POSITIVE COPING STRATEGIES
1)Â Â <!--[endif]-->DEVELOP A SENSE OF CONTROL- We as humans like to be in control
and in power. We are most at ease when things go our way. We do not do well
with uncertainties. In the current pandemic times, the uncertainties have
increased undoubtedly causing anxiety, fear, worry, etc.Â
ACCEPT that we cannot control everything.
So, what can we control? We can definitely control our schedule,
our routine. Make and follow daily routine schedule of day to day activities as
follows-
MORNING TASKS |
LENGTH OF TIME |
 START TIME |
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.     Â
<!--[endif]-->WAKE UP |
 |
 |
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.    Â
<!--[endif]-->SHOWER, GET DRESSED |
 |
 |
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.    Â
<!--[endif]-->BREAKFAST |
 |
 |
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.    Â
<!--[endif]-->ERRANDS |
 |
 |
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.    Â
<!--[endif]-->WORK |
 |
 |
This will give a sense of control and help lower our
anxiety.
Â
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.    Â
<!--[endif]-->MAKE S.M.A.R.T. GOALS- Make a to- do list of what you want
and what you want to achieve. These goals should not be random. Follow the
S.M.A.R.T. acronym to make the goals.
S- Specific – eg- I want to lose weight.
M- Measurable-Â eg- 10 kilos
<!--[if !supportLists]-->A-Â Â
<!--[endif]-->Attainable- Eg-
<!--[if !supportLists]-->R-Â Â
<!--[endif]-->Realistic
<!--[if !supportLists]-->T-Â Â Â
<!--[endif]-->Time Bound- eg- timely- in 10 months, which means 1 kilo in 1 month- this
is realistic and achievable unlike, saying losing 5 kilos in 2 weeks, which is
unrealistic and not achievable.
Â
When the goal is achieved, it gives us a sense of
achievement, increases our self-esteem and improves our motivation to do more.
Â
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.   Â
<!--[endif]-->MENTAL SELF CARE-
<!--[if !supportLists]-->a.    Â
<!--[endif]-->POSITIVE SELF TALK- Talk to yourself without
judgement like you would talk to your best friend. Don’t be too harsh or
critical of yourself. If you have made some mistakes, try to solve the issues,
and if you cannot, tell yourself that you tried your best to solve it and it is
okay. Learn to forgive yourself.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->b.   Â
<!--[endif]-->MINDFULNESS-Â Practice mindful breathing,
Practice
mindful
exercise,
Focus on Seeing 3 things
around you/ hearing 3 things/ touching 3 things around you.
This will help you with
lowering your distractions and thought cacophony.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->c.   Â
<!--[endif]-->MEDITATION
<!--[if !supportLists]-->d.  Â
<!--[endif]-->BEING GRATEFUL- for
the little things in your daily life eg- the rain/ shower/ hot fresh food/ time
to watch a series, etc.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->e.   Â
<!--[endif]-->HELP OTHERS- a sense of being useful
and helpful
<!--[if !supportLists]-->f.      Â
<!--[endif]-->KEEP BUSY- by organizing closets, learning new hobbies/ skills,
watch movies on voot, amazon, netflix, etc.
Â
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.   Â
<!--[endif]-->COMBAT LONELINESS
Â
Due to the current scenario,
suddenly, a fast paced life has become slow paced. Lack of social connections due
to lock down and social distancing, restriction on our mobility to go places,
confines us to our homes, with work from home, online schooling, etc. This has
resulted in a sense of emptinessand loneliness.
Lonelinessis a sense of lack of
emotional connection and companionship. It comes from within.
Those affected the most are
whoserelationships are already strained.
Â
What do you do?
Think - who matters most
in your life?
              - who are the most important people
in your life? Who supports you?
Increase contact with
them deliberately.
It’s a time to RE-CONNECT not just connect with them.
Via video calling/ skype/
facetime.
Â
CREATE VIRTUAL WORKPLACE-
<!--[if !supportLists]-->•    Â
<!--[endif]-->Here you can collaborate with your colleagues over
zoom/ skype/ whatsapp/ etc.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->•    Â
<!--[endif]-->Have a buddy/ superviser whom you can reach out to.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->•    Â
<!--[endif]-->This will provide social contact.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->•    Â
<!--[endif]-->Audio/ video chatting is superior to email/ text in
social connections.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->•    Â
<!--[endif]-->Learn to say NO to work outside work hours.
Â
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.    Â
<!--[endif]-->COMBAT ANXIETY-
No doubt there is lot of uncertainty today. This results in
lot of anxiety. How to cope with this?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->a.    Â
<!--[endif]-->ACCEPT UNCERTAINTY- This is something that we cannot
change. Accept it.
Make a list of uncertain things that happen in your day to
day life that you accept without realising.Eg- my zoom meeting may or may not
start on time. I will get hot breakfast, today morning there won’t be internet
issues, my alarm will ring, etc. Do all these things happen 100% everyday?
Â
 Once we realise that we have been living with uncertainties, we realise not everything is 100