Getting anxious at home during a lockdown? Our lives took a big shift when the pandemic occurred, no one was ready. In fact, we are trying to save ourselves from the virus, yet, we didn’t know that we also need to prevent ourselves from having Quarantine Fatigue.
“Quarantine Fatigue may look different from person to person, but overall, it is defined as exhaustion associated with the new restrictive lifestyle that has been adopted to slow the spread of COVID-19,” says Dr. Marques.
When to be alarmed? You need to monitor yourself as its symptoms may seem normal to others. Please evaluate yourself if you’ve been experiencing the following:
Racing thoughts
Social Withdrawal
Interpersonal Conflict
Loss of motivation
Reduced productivity
Feeling tense, irritable, or anxious
Changes in eating or sleeping habits
Why isolation is the root cause?
Due to the drastic change and the limitations because of the quarantine, our body and mind had a difficult time in adjusting. The majority were anxious because of the present difficulties and the extra demands just to get through in life. People are being restrained, and they are not used to it.
Tips on how to overcome it
We understand that at these times we need to be physically distant with some of our family, relatives, friends and loved ones. But remember that we don’t need to be socially distant from them.
Use this extra time to reach out from someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, build your relationship with your family through watching movies/series together, make a home family dinner, and think of a fun activity with your family can do inside your houses.
Moreover, aside from catching up with your love ones, it is also important to practice mindfulness meditation, bringing attention to your breath – allow your breath to take place and become aware of it and enjoy it, notice when your mind is wandering or worrying and bring it back to center with mindful breathing, and most importantly pay attention to the experience of basic happiness in everyday life.