Covid-19 has turned all our lives upside down. Faced with an unwarranted situation and uncertainty all over, it was a situation where none of us knew how to tread forward. An ambiguous disease or virus taking over the world had us question all our beliefs, sanity, and mental health.

The entire medical community was stunned. They were confronted with a challenging new disease which no one knew or encountered before. Death rates and Covid cases were on the rise, all over the world, giving a magnanimous shape to this pandemic. After lock-downs were announced in different countries, the routine life of people changed drastically. Without any transition period, from a normal regular life, we were all locked inside our own homes.

Astrological Significance:

The astrological terrain for any mundane event like epidemic to take form depends upon the significant role of few of the malefic planets, as follows:

• Rahu and Ketu as the significator of epidemics and infectious diseases
• Saturn plays a significant role in the epidemic as it signifies mass death.
• Jupiter is called the savior or the Satvik planet. It will give everyone the wisdom and help to save humanity.
• Mercury plays a significant role of contributing to the increase of respiratory infections, infecting lungs and highly transmissible from one individual to another
• The collective karmic cycle of humanity which has given back the toll of offense offered to nature by humans.

This sudden lock-down amalgamated with death tolls and rising infection cases brought about fear, anxiety, and discomfort in our lives. As a result, it has led to deteriorating mental health.

• Fear – because we were all facing something for the first time with no prior experience in this regard.
• Anxiety – because we had to live like prisoners in the periphery of our own homes.
• Discomfort – because there was no personal space to maintain proper mental health or sanity.

How stressed can you get as per your zodiac sign. Check out the various triggers and signs that causes you stress.

Fear:

Fear is a primal emotion which is our standard stress response. As a result, often as a first step of survival instinct, fear directs us to stress responses of fight, flight, or freeze. Fear occurs in situation where we have no prior experience in – things or situation that are unfamiliar to us. Moreover, things beyond our immediate comprehension distorts our mind. As a result, we are gripped by concern and distress of unreality. Therefore, fear can cause us to lose our mental faculties and render us useless to do anything.

Fear is of two types: Normal Fear (5%) and Imaginary Fear (95%).

Normal fear is natural and healthy. Often it is even encouraged. It helps us to seek out information. As a result, we are able to then make informed decisions. In case of Covid-19 infections, normal fear promoted the practices of sanitation. They include washing our hands, sanitizing every area that we possibly touched, wearing masks, quarantining at home, social distancing, getting the Covid vaccines, etc.

Imaginary fear results in panic and stress. Often it leads to over thinking, depleting all energy and resulting in uneasiness and discomfort. As a result, this deeply impacts our mental health. Imaginary fears regarding Covid can include all the possible negative impacts that you can think of. It includes losing your family, business closing down, becoming homeless, worrying about death, failing classes, getting a divorce and the likes. These thoughts cause worry, stress, anxiety, depression, and constant tension even before any of these things have happened. This imaginary fear is therefore quite dangerous for our mental health, paving its path for stress.

Stress:

Continued stress leads to chronic diseases. To deal with stress often our built-in stress mechanism leads to flight and fight mode. However, stress is subjective and is likely to change when situation or the threat gets over. Also, with respect to Covid-19, stress is inevitable. Moreover, all of us are facing with something extremely new and different. Locked inside the four walls of your own house brings a lot of mental pressure and brings out negative emotions.

Lack of adaptability to this new routine also brings unwarranted stress and strain. Negative emotions of fear and apprehension about unfulfilled expectations, anger and grief creates added stress. As a result, there is the existential anxiety as the imminent danger of this epidemic may threaten the existence and meaning of life. The burden of collective responsibility too often adds to our stress and negatively impacts our mental health.

To combat stress and anxiety, here are some of the best ways of self-care, as per your zodiac sign.

Anxiety:

Stress and ambiguity may create anxiety. The issue with anxiety is that there is no easy way to identify the root cause or source. Anxiety brings our mental disposition and capacity to the lowest, making way for depression and hopelessness. Usually, anxiety is associated with autonomic hyper-arousal and attentive hyper-vigilance. This is used as a shield against the sense of threat. Anxiety if left untreated, leads to anxiety disorder.

As a reaction to the perception of internal and external danger, anxiety often brings us to our knees. The anticipation of daily functioning and day to day activities gives way to guilt, stress, tension, and nervousness. Covid has now been brought a lot under control through vaccination drives. Through the collective social responsibility of the citizens, a lot has happened in the past two years to accumulate stress. Unfortunately, this has lead to anxiety disorders in many people.

When the fabric of the society changes – rampant deaths, increasing infections, crashing of the economy and state structure, lack of medical infrastructure etc., it takes a toll on our mental faculty.

Listen to your kind of music to alleviate stress and tension, even if you a shorter period. Find out here.

Anxiety can lead to few other issues such as

• Anxiety Disorders – excessive anxiety over a sustained period leads to muscle aches, tiredness, palpitations, dizziness and nausea etc. Therefore, feeling on the edge, exaggerated startle response, difficulty in concentration, trouble sleeping etc. are some of the common symptoms.
• Panic Attacks – these last for a few minutes causing unexpected and intense vertigo, sweating, numbness, palpitation etc. Consequently, you are gripped by hopelessness and these attacks can be triggered by anything.
• Compulsive Obsessive Disorder – these are persistent ideas, thoughts and impulses which can be intrusive, disrespectful and makes no sense to any other person who is not going through the same. These compulsions are repetitive and intentional.
• Imaginary Fear – these create the illusion of fright and distress. As a result, we often react to situations with fear and operate out of limited consciousness.

Food is often a way to the heart and often brings about good mood. Find out what kind of food you can have to bring you comfort during stressed times.

Experiences and Trauma:

Fear often feeds on experiences, independent of the current reality. Fear and worry often cause us to feel overwhelming, rendering us useless to even function properly. We attach meanings, ideas and condition to people, situations and objects – often identifying ourselves as the victim. As a result, this causes trauma bonds, which over time becomes extremely difficult to overcome. What we need to do is to realize the nature of our own reality, of our own self, the power of being present now and being. To overcome fear and anxiety, especially to beat the repercussions of Covid-19 pandemic is not an easy task.

Ways to deal with the unresolved trauma:

First and foremost, for proper addressal of issues that you are facing, it is necessary to be vocal about it. Until you are able to put it in words and vocalize your problems, there cannot be any solution. Feel no hesitation to seek professional medical help. A psychologist or psychiatrist can offer help and solutions through their gained knowledge, which will help you to overcome certain issues. Ice cream flavours for your soul to make your stress and tension temporarily vanish. Check them out here.

Classical methods to deal with crisis:

Practicing Yoga depending upon your temperament will ease out your mind and help you to focus. Please note that practicing yoga will not make your issues or problems disappear magically, but it will open your mental horizons and increase the bandwidth to accommodate these issues without feeling too overwhelmed.

• Karma Yoga – doing good deeds and being helpful to others in a distressful situation will allow you to open your heart and alleviate anxiety and detachment.
• Bhakti Yoga – Emotional temperament is the idea to surrender to the divine plan. Believe in a greater power and allow that power to take over you. Transform the fear into faith.
• Raja and Hatha Yoga – this is to improve breath-body awareness with rhythmic breathing exercises. Increase your physical balance for flow of prana or energy with restorative Yoga.
• Jnana Yoga – this is the intellectual philosophical temperament yoga, where you concentrate on your mental faculties – remembering your true self, the soul.

Retail therapy can be used as a temporary substitute to alleviate stress. Find out what kind of shopper you are.

Replacing Fear and Anxiety with Faith:

Cultivating faith is most important to restore proper balance in life. Faith is not entirely synonymous with religion or spirituality. One needs to develop faith especially in such times of utter hopelessness and despondency. We need to nurture three types of faith. They are as follows:

• Faith in own self – this talks about self-reliance and belief in oneself. Therefore, you must practice to rely on your inner strength to seek out the knowledge and truth to progress in life. This faith is replaced by direct experience of the Self.
• Faith in Nature and the supreme intelligence – this promotes meditation and shifting consciousness from the past to the present. Having faith in a super power and surrendering to that almighty dwells in one’s essential spirit.
• Faith in Teachings and Practices – these are the ethical guidelines of conduct to purity, contentment, and austerity. The challenge is to endure the past Karma in order to learn not to react or retaliate. Forgive and forget.

Engaging time in your hobby is also another way to cope with stress and anxiety. Check out hobbies you can pursue as per your zodiac sign