HOW YOU CAN TAKE BACK CONTROL IN THIS NEVER ENDING PANDEMIC

By Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada: If you're feeling exhausted or overwhelmed at this stage of the pandemic, those feelings are normal and you're not alone, say mental health experts. You might feel like there's not much you can do about it, but there are ways to feel a sense of control right now.

The variant is extremely transmissible, and is coming at a time when most of us would prefer to be planning holiday gatherings. Instead we're cancelling those plans, and scrambling to find ways to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. 

Many of us are languishing, which we might experience as both mental and physical depletion, struggling to get things done and to feel motivated. We might also have physical symptoms, everything from acne breakouts to aches and pains.

So to manage this stress...simple things are the most effective for stress management, and everyone should be doing them anyway, regardless of whether there is a pandemic.

 The simple stuff is physical exercise, have a nice healthy diet, sleep and be careful of substance use, alcohol and drugs, because we know that's been a problem, an increasing problem during COVID.

 It's important to slow down right now, to allow yourself to be mindful and to quiet your "lizard brain," or in other words, fearful, irrational thinking.

Having self-compassion, practising mindfulness and finding certainty within yourself are helpful.