How To Stay Positive During Covid-19

I need to start this article off by saying that I am in no way an expert. If you clicked on this article looking for a magic fix on how to stay positive throughout the rest of this pandemic I’m sorry to say that this ain’t it. 

But no article will ever be it. No matter how many self help books, guides, blog posts, Instagram stories or inspirational quotes you read, no one will ever be able to answer the question of how you are supposed to stay positive during these ‘unprecedented times’. Why? Because only you know the answer. It’s too personal and specific to your situation for any generic article or guide to answer for you. So instead here a few realistic and simple suggestions to help you move into a more positive mindset.

Right now we are being bombarded with millions of things making us feel overwhelmed to the point of numbness. In these moments I think it’s so important to stop and take a step back. This will naturally look different for everyone whether it may be switching off your phone, escaping somewhere into nature or just retreating to your room. It is necessary for each of us to be able to unplug from the world and focus on what is happening inside our mind, body and soul. As hard as it may be to make time for yourself I strongly urge you to do so, as it is the only moment in which you will be able to be truly vulnerable with yourself and be able to forget all the noise around you.

As cheesy as it may sound the best thing to do in these times of stress and turmoil is to breathe. As simple as that. In and out. Yes yes I know how cheesy I sound right now but honestly try it. Right now breathe in and out slowly. Tell me that you don’t feel at least a little bit better. Now do it again. But this time as you breathe in realize that as this new air is filling your lungs it is giving you another moment of life that you can do anything you want with, anything at all. This inhale of air allows you to live, to move, to express, to do all of your favorite things. Now hold that breath in your lungs for a little bit. And now as you exhale let go of all of the things that you wish you had done, all those moments that you feel were stolen from you or that you had been hurt by, as they are in the past. Sorry to say but you cannot control what happened or didn’t happen you can only control what you chose to do moving forward. You can either keep these thoughts inside you forever and allow them to stop you from inhaling the full potential of your life or you can simply exhale and let them go forever. I think sometimes we get so caught up in the complexities of life that we forget the simple things like being able to breathe and sometimes just need to be reminded of the beauty in the simple things.

As much as you might not want to, you need to address all the things that are bothering/pestering/draining/hurting you. Addressing these things may look different for every person; you might need to have a difficult discussion with someone or write down your thoughts about something that’s been bothering you or you might need to finally do that thing that you’ve been putting at the bottom of your to do list. Whatever it may be you need to do it. This is the only way that you will be able to overcome this feeling of being overwhelmed. Trust me ignoring them will only make things worse for you in the long run so rather stop and address them as they happen to prevent putting yourself under unnecessary stress. And sometimes this may be too overwhelming to do by yourself so it’s ok to talk to someone about it whether that be a friend, family member or even a therapist, whichever you feel will be able to provide with the support you need to work through your thoughts and emotions.

We might not know exactly when and we kind of know how (with some vaccines already being put to use) but just like all the pandemics before it we definitely know that this will come to an end. So let’s all just keep hoping and praying for that day to come. And in the meantime we will all be on our own journey of coping with the ever changing situation by using some of the things mentioned in this article or maybe finding something better that works for us. Whatever it may be, I truly wish that you will be able to make the best of this time (WHILE staying safe) and not just surviving but thriving as we can no longer let this pandemic steal anymore from us than it already has.

If you have any tips of your own that you would like to share about trying to stay positive during this pandemic please comment them below