MIND RESILIENCE: HOW TO IMPROVE IT
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MIND RESILIENCE: HOW TO IMPROVE IT

MIND RESILIENCE: HOW TO IMPROVE IT

Post by on Tuesday, June 8, 2021

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By Dr.JankhanaHakani,

Consultant Psychiatrist &Counselor,

Mind Help Clinic, Fort,
Saifee Hospital, Charni Road,
Healthspring, Cuffe Parade.
mindhelpclinic@gmail.com

 

“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.  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)   <!--[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. 

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.       <!--[endif]-->WAKE UP

 

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.      <!--[endif]-->SHOWER, GET DRESSED

 

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.      <!--[endif]-->BREAKFAST

 

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.      <!--[endif]-->ERRANDS

 

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.      <!--[endif]-->WORK

 

 

This will give a sense of control and help lower our anxiety.

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.      <!--[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-  eg- 10 kilos

<!--[if !supportLists]-->A-   <!--[endif]-->Attainable- Eg-

<!--[if !supportLists]-->R-   <!--[endif]-->Realistic

<!--[if !supportLists]-->T-    <!--[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.

 

When the goal is achieved, it gives us a sense of achievement, increases our self-esteem and improves our motivation to do more.

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.     <!--[endif]-->MENTAL SELF CARE-

<!--[if !supportLists]-->a.      <!--[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.     <!--[endif]-->MINDFULNESS-  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.     <!--[endif]-->MEDITATION

<!--[if !supportLists]-->d.    <!--[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.     <!--[endif]-->HELP OTHERS- a sense of being useful and helpful

<!--[if !supportLists]-->f.        <!--[endif]-->KEEP BUSY- by organizing closets, learning new hobbies/ skills, watch movies on voot, amazon, netflix, etc.

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.     <!--[endif]-->COMBAT LONELINESS

 

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.

 

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.

 

CREATE VIRTUAL WORKPLACE-

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•      <!--[endif]-->Here you can collaborate with your colleagues over zoom/ skype/ whatsapp/ etc.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•      <!--[endif]-->Have a buddy/ superviser whom you can reach out to.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•      <!--[endif]-->This will provide social contact.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•      <!--[endif]-->Audio/ video chatting is superior to email/ text in social connections.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•      <!--[endif]-->Learn to say NO to work outside work hours.

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.      <!--[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.      <!--[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?

 

 Once we realise that we have been living with uncertainties, we realise not everything is 100

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