The COVID-19 Pandemic has brought many stressors into our lives. We stress about our health, well-being, education, job security, financial security, mental health, and many more. Here are some signs that you may be dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how you can cope with it.
PTSD is a stress disorder that can afflict anyone. Witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event is hard to forget and can affect one’s daily life.
Trouble sleeping and concentrating. Having trouble sleeping and concentrating from your mind being clouded with troubling thoughts is a sign of PTSD. Instead of clearing your mind, somehow these thoughts enter your brain making you lose focus and lack sleep. These thoughts are intrusive and can affect the way you perform daily tasks.
Constant negative feelings. After experiencing something traumatic, it is normal that emotions like fear, guilt, and anger are a direct result of that. With PTSD, these feelings can be lashed out unto other individuals and affect your relationship with them. These constant feelings may also make one feel detached or estranged from others.
Always feeling unsafe. There are several triggers of PTSD, it could be a sound, a word, a song, a piece of clothing, and many other things. This trigger or reminder of the traumatic event makes individuals conscious of such things. They try to avoid those triggers thus they are always looking over their shoulder feeling unsafe.
No matter the symptom of PTSD, there are ways to cope with it during the pandemic. Coping may be tricky nowadays, with outdoor activity limited, some have to get creative with the way they deal with PTSD and stress. Amidst all the stressors and trauma that people afflicted with PTSD deal with, COVID-19 in a chink in the chain, here are some ways to cope during the pandemic.
Incorporate self-care into your daily routine. The worries we deal with every day can distract from the fact that we should care for ourselves as well. Self-care activities can include journalling, exercise, meditating, watching 2 episodes of your favorite show a day, and many more. Doing an activity that you thoroughly enjoy every day, develops the thinking that you deserve a treat or indulgence everyday, which you most definitely do.
Reach out. Reaching out to your friends, loved ones, classmates, or coworkers that you’re close to is a form of sociality during a time where hugs are avoided. Talking to people other than those you live with can make you feel like life is what it once was. You can talk about how you’re dealing with COVID-19, or seek help regarding your PTSD. Either way, catching up with people you have not seen or talked to for quite some time is always a good idea.
Track your activities for the day and your moods. This is a way to get a bird eye view of what activities make you happy and what activities do not. Habit trackers can be easily found online as well as printable calendars so that you can see how what you do directly affects your mood.
Amidst all the stress and anxiety of COVID-19, mental health should never be neglected. Try out these ways to cope with PTSD or anxiety to help turn your days a little bit brighter.
