Quarantine got you down?
Written for GQ, 8 May 2020
Edited by Shikha Sethi
While some folks seem to be thriving in #lockdown – rediscovering an old passion for sketching, mastering complicated dance challenges, and posting pictures of their freshly baked #bananabread, you’re in your pyjamas and…. on your 200th TikTok video. (They’re addictive, we know.)
And while most of us have off days, if this extended #lockdown has sent you spiralling into a funk you can’t seem to get out of, don’t fret. According to Sumitra Daswani, founder of Born from the Earth, a holistic health coach and a certified Ayurvedic nutritionist, “It’s not really your fault because your brain is going into survival mode. Also known as the body’s fight-flight-freeze response. Too much stress, fear and anxiety causes logical thinking and moderation to go right out the window.”
Here, Daswani offers 7 ways to pick yourself up to get rid of them quarantine blues:
1. Break out of your sluggish cycle by doing one task
Even one activity can fire your neurons, and give you the jumpstart you need to start increasing your activity flow. It could be as simple as making your bed, doing some push-ups, or cooking a simple meal.
2. Eat pungent foods.
According to Ayurvedic Nutrition, pungent foods give off a hot, dispersing energy that incites stimulation and increases circulation. The dry heat of spicy foods, such as chillies, radishes, mustard seeds and ginger, invigorates tissues by jump starting nerve endings in the mouth.
3. Create order, structure and routine
Our brains don’t like uncertainty. Creating routine frees up working space in our pre-frontal cortex, so that we can focus on new tasks. Get started by waking up at a fixed time every day, clearing your clutter, and organizing your closet.
4. Turn off the news
Turn off news notifications on your phone, stop checking potentially negative WhatsApp forwards, and take a break from global problems. Overexposure to scary and worrisome information will only perpetuate the stress-induced response in your brain.
5. Do something new
Figuring something out for the first time creates new neural pathways…the same way you would exercise new muscles at the gym. People who learn new skills don’t give the brain a chance to degenerate, reducing the risk of dementia.
6. Use these energy exercises
Tapping in specific areas helps to stimulate energy flow, through our meridian channels. Tapping on the K-27 point restores energy, increases vitality and supports better communication along all energy systems. You can locate it by placing your fingers an inch below your collarbone, at either side of the throat. Tap this area for 3 breaths when you need a boost.
7. Work with a health coach
If you can’t get positive changes to stick, consider working with a health coach, life coach or therapist. There may be deeper emotional issues that a licensed professional can help you work through, so you can start to thrive.
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