Depending on where you live, you could already be back to your normal life. Covid-19 may still be ravaging some places of the world, but others are thankfully starting to return to some semblance of what a normal society looked like before the pandemic.
Some are now back to the daily grind of working their nine to five job. Waking up in the morning and getting ready for work. The old 2 minutes brushing your teeth, then getting dressed. First one leg, then the other. Pants go on like everyone else…
Then, as you eat your bland morning cornflakes, you scroll through your Instagram feed, your Twitter feed, maybe some Reddit? Maybe you even pop into Playcroco Casino to check out your Playcroco Casino bonuses.
But, either way, now it’s time for work. Traffic sucks and some annoying person cuts you off. You walk into the office in a bad mood. This is only made worse when your boss tells you he needs the reports that were due next week by this Wednesday.
So, you pull a bit of overtime getting everything done. You don’t wanna have to deal with it tomorrow eh? You check the clock, and it’s already 7:30. Overtime may pay more, but sure does it feel like the hours are longer…
Then, you head home and have to explain to your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, or any other significant other you have (or lack thereof) how you were held late at the office again.
You pull some leftovers out of the fridge to eat and settle down. It’s not very good, but at least it’s food. Next, get ready for bed. Brush teeth, bathroom, drink water, pajamas, maybe a shower first, then hit the hay.
You toss in turn in bed, worrying about where you are going in life, and those reports you still didn’t finish… Next thing you know it’s 1am already and you still aren’t asleep.
At some point you fell asleep though, only to be woken up in what feels like moments later by your 6am alarm. Oh boy. The day continues. And repeats. And repeats. And repeats…
People who are still in a place with the pandemic have different schedules than this, but at the end of the day, the results are the same. Worry. Anxiety. Stress.
Worry about whether or not you will contract the virus. Worry about whether or not someone you care about will contract the virus. Or, worry about someone you love who already contracted the virus…
Anxiety over all the bills that could pile up now that you can’t work. Your company went out of business so you have nothing to do all day but sit and watch in horror as your bank account balance slowly drops day by day.
Stressing over if you will be able to find a new place of employment after this is all over. When this is all over… If this will be all over? For some people, it can seem like there is simply no end in sight.
A Silent Killer
For some of us, the Covid-19 pandemic may be coming closer and closer to an end. For others, the pandemic is still just as prevalent as ever. Yet, there is another plague that is sweeping the people. One of the mind, not the body.
Stress and anxiety are some of the most common problems in society. They are quiet killers that are known to increase the risk of health problems and decrease both life quality and expectancy.
I have yet to meet a person in my life, that wasn’t a child, and didn’t suffer from stress about one thing or another. Grades, an upcoming test, your job, a lack of a job, bills, college, the list can go on like this forever.
The fact is, no matter what is going on in the world, people will always have things to stress or be anxious about. Even if we find cures for every disease on the planet, people will probably still suffer from stress and anxiety.
The simple fact is, stress and anxiety are too much a part of us to do anything medical about. They are emotions just like any other. It would take away a bit of our humanity to relieve us of some of the very things that make us human; our emotions.
What Can Help?
Now, even though stress and anxiety are perfectly normal (unless you have an anxiety disorder etc…), it still doesn’t help someone who is stressing about something to be stressed about that.
So, what are some ways someone can keep their stress and anxiety under control? Some ways they can be a warrior instead of a worrier?
One of the biggest ways is to plan your time well. For students and people with deadlines, planning your time can be a life saver.
As a student myself, I know for a fact that many students don’t plan their time well or at all. They cram for tests, get essays done last minute, and try to finish projects that were supposed to be done in 2 months the week before they are due.
By planning your time well, you can know how much you have done, and how much you still have left to do. This can greatly take a burden off your shoulders about when and how you are going to get your work done.
Another big thing is to be careful with money. Now, I know a lot of people have unexpected bills that come up. Life is unpredictable, and we can’t always know what will come our way.
However, there are also a lot of people that spend excess money (usually that they don’t have) on expensive things they don’t need. I am not just talking about cars here. Many people spend entirely too much money on college tuition just for an Ivy League name.
Many times, this is not worth the price compared to the quality of education you are getting. Usually, you are just paying for the prestige of a name.
I bring this up specifically because one of the biggest things I’ve heard people gripe about is student loans. It is clear this is a huge source of stress for many people in our day and age.
So, I want to leave with one final message to all of you. The biggest reliever of stress is usually perspective. Is the thing you are stressing about really worth all the heartache?
I know most of the time it can be hard to change how you feel about something. I’m stressed about it! How can perspective just magically change that?
Well, the truth is, it won’t. It will take time. But, if you really think about the things that cause stress in your life, just think about if it is really worth the stress! Even if you don’t believe it emotionally, the more you tell yourself it’s okay, the more you will start to believe it.
Stress is a normal part of life, and no matter what you do I doubt anyone can live “stress free.” But, we certainly can try to moderate our stress. A little step can go a long way.
