Making the right decisions, Managing stress
April 14, 2020
How to best handle stress during a quarantine
Right now, millions of people around the globe are quarantined in their homes. Businesses are closed, and there is little to do outside of your own house. You cannot meet up with friends and co-workers. This can be extremely depressing and stressful for many people. As mentioned in our previous blog post, “How to stay happy when working from home” there are several things you can do while you are quarantined at home. The following are some additional ways to handle the stress of a quarantine:
Get some sunshine
With the quarantine in place and everyone working from home, it seems like it’s best to stay inside at all times. While it is true that you need to stay in your home and away from the public, you still need to get some time outside in the sunlight when you have a break in your workday. Vitamin D has so many benefits that are crucial during this time of uncertainty.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally produced when you spend time in the sunlight. Vitamin D helps keep your immune system functioning properly, which is so important during this pandemic. It can also help fight diseases such as heart disease and even the flu. In addition, vitamin D helps ward off feelings of depression. It is easy to feel depressed during this time, so sunlight may do your body some good.
Although many of us cannot go outside our homes right now, there are some ways you can get your vitamin D. Sit next to an open window or out on your balcony. Spend a few minutes in your backyard garden for some fresh air.
If you do much of your work on a laptop or any other type of mobile device, you may even want to take part of your workday outdoors. You can easily set up a workstation on a patio table and work outside for a few hours each day. Exposure to sunlight is a great way to help reduce stress and anxiety.
Diffuse essential oils
If you have never delved into essential oils, now is a great time to get started. Aromatherapy is the practice of smelling essential oils to improve your overall health. The theory behind aromatherapy is that they help stimulate your smell receptors and send messages to the nervous system. Inhaling essential oils from a diffuser is a great way to help relieve stress naturally.
There are a wide variety of essential oils to choose from when it comes to alleviating stress. Some of the most widely used and most common include lavender, basil, bergamot, chamomile, and ylang ylang.
If you do not currently have a diffuser or essential oils, check online to see which providers are still able to ship the products to you. You may also know someone who sells essential oils and diffusers as a business. This is a great time to support a small, home-based business. Call them up and set up an order for a few oils and a diffuser. He or she can easily drop your order off on your porch to avoid contact.
Have a conversation
During this time of quarantine and working from home, it is easy to feel isolated. You may be a very social person who is accustomed to spending time with friends, family, and co-workers every day. For extroverts, this can be a very depressing and stressful time.
Since you cannot talk to those you care about face-to-face, make some time to talk on the phone, like via FaceTime, WhatsApp, or send texts regularly. You can get together with several of your peers and have a virtual meet-up. Talk about how you all are feeling, what you are doing to take up your time at home, and anything else you feel like discussing. While it is difficult to ignore what is going on in the world right now, regular conversations are a good way to help distract you from the news and the stress involved with being in quarantine.
Remaining in quarantine for the foreseeable future can be depressing and stressful. Finding some ways to make your days normal, both while you work from home and during your time off, can really help improve your health and wellbeing. Try to make your day fun by having dinner with friends through Skype. You can also use video conferencing tools if you want to play board games together. Charades or Pictionary are some great games you can easily play with others via video call. You can even do charades and Pictionary directly online with the mobile video conferencing app Houseparty to challenge your friends and family.
Get creative and try to make these days as fun as you can!
