HANDLE STRESS + SLEEPLESS NIGHTS during COVID-19
With the many changes imposed on our once “normal” lives due to Covid-19, it’s natural that we don’t feel like our usual self.
Coping with the new measures and restrictions introduced by governments to reduce the effects of us contracting the Coranvirus has meant that we are processing increased levels of information and adapting our lives to accommodate the constant changes. Unfortunately for many of us, this added pressure can translate into stress and manifest in a variety of emotions such as fear, despair, depression, sadness, confusion, anger and disappointment to name a few.
The realities of working from home, temporary unemployment, changes to our social lives and the introduction of social distancing, home-schooling of children, and lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues takes time to get used to. Adapting to lifestyle changes such as these and managing the fear of contracting the virus, plus worrying about people close to us who are particularly vulnerable, are challenging for all of us. Those people with mental health conditions can particularly find this time to be challenging and difficult, too.
Fortunately, there are lots of things that we can do to look after our own mental health and to help others who may need some extra support and care.Firstly, know that you are not alone. Reach out to a family member, friend, work colleague or neighbour and let them know you are not okay. Contact one of the many government community services who will offer support and advice.
Self-help can include things like sticking to a daily routine. That routine may look and feel different to what it’s always been, but nonetheless adapting to a new routine can still include important things to help bring some balance into your life. Some of these factors as suggested by the World Health Organisation, include:
- Get up and go to bed at similar times every day
- Keep up with personal hygiene
- Eat healthy meals at regular times
- Exercise regularly
- Allocate time for working and time for resting
- Make time for doing things you enjoy
HANDLE STRESS + SLEEPLESS NIGHTS during COVID-19
How acupuncture and natural herbal medicine can help.
One thing that Covid-19 has brought to our lives is a new way of doing life – a slower way where we’re not rushing here and rushing there – we’ve been forced to stay at home and therefore not “going” and “doing” but instead “being”. Yep, being with our family members or being on our own.
The gift of this has been the time to reflect, rejuvenate and renew our focus. As with the cycles of nature, there is a time for growth and a time for hibernation. For most of the western world a focus on growth and wealth has presented humans with the constant search for balance in their busy lives, without the ability to rejuvenate for the next cycle. Chinese Medical theory suggests acknowledgement to this natural ebb and flow of the seasons and of chi (energy).
Traditional Oriental Medicine identifies most illness as a lack or blockage of flow in the body, resulting in pain and unwanted symptoms such as depression, anxiety, hypertension, headaches, shoulder aches, neck aches, back aches and pre-menstrual tension to name a few.
How Traditional Oriental Medicine sees it
- Depression is a lack of flow due to a lack of energy bringing about the feeling of being “stuck” with no hope
- Anxiety and hypertension are seen as energy rising when it should fall – this can lead to a blockage resulting in heart attack or stroke
- Insomnia can be treated to regulate the yin and yang of the body to reinforce health and eliminate the pathogenic, thus improving sleep patterns
- Headaches, neck aches, back aches and shoulder aches can be due to tension in the upper body, affecting the blood and nerve supply to the brain
Acupuncture and natural herbal medicine may help relieve these conditions. A fully qualified and AHPRA registered Acupuncturist/ Doctor of Chinese Medicine can suggest ways of working with a patient to clear these blockages and increase the flow of chi throughout the body. Left unchecked, these problems can create more serious ones.
Living in harmony with our environment, our self and each other is a natural way of being in the world.