Today, I have been writing about pandemic stress. As I was writing about all the factors, causes, and symptoms evolving around stress, I found so many parallels in those and the current situation in the UK.
Essentially, stress is a feeling of overwhelmingness and like your tasks and goals are not-so achievable.
This past year has been a huge task in adapt or perish. And what a lot of us have had to do is adapt to the times.
Now that we have adapted, how do feel about your previous lifestyle entering that new normal?
As you created a new routine and lifestyle shift, we will soon be including socialising, travel, or commuting and old hobbies being available again being added on top of all that!
Even as we all reminisced about what we used to do and what we’re looking forward to doing again, it could very well seem like it’s becoming too much, just as you got comfortable with how things were before.
There are a few steps that we can all take to ensure that stress doesn’t get the better of us during the relaxing of lockdown:
- Don’t try to do everything at once.
Just because your gym, pool, baby class, restaurant, the pub is open again, pace yourself in what you can start and ensure it fits in with your routine. - Still stay healthy.
Whilst things were shutting down, your tolerance for a lot of things would have lowered too. Stress or anxiety can occur from excess substance and activities, so check in with yourself to make sure you are not drinking, eating, or doing more than you can handle. - It’s OK if you have lost interest.
You are always developing and changing as a person. This means that you might even found during lockdown that you didn’t really enjoy a lot of what you were doing. That is OK and be proud and excited to get to this new phase of who you are.
As you go into this new chapter of your life, listen to who you are today, not pre-pandemic, and what you want in order to live the happiest and stress-free life you can.