This past week has been awkward. My sleeping patterns have been out of whack and it felt like I subjected myself to an obscene amount of unnecessary screen time out of sheer boredom.
Though I have grown accustomed to life in quarantine and found things to constantly do, I still find myself intermittently abandoning chores and falling into brief periods of depression. It is hard to make abnormal feel like normal no matter how hard we try and there is nothing normal about the way we are living now. The need to be constantly productive is an unhealthy feeling to entertain and it is one that I, for one, battle with steadily. It tends to also fill you with an immense amount of guilt.
We have become accustomed to being proud of our grind culture and productivity, even under adverse circumstances; even when we feel emotionally and physically depleted. Perhaps this is why I feel guilty about listening to and trusting my emotional state.
The concept of mindfulness is something that has gained traction in popular culture and though most of us may already practice it in some shape or form, it seems now that it is an action you should intentionally part take it in.
According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, a mindfulness expert, mindfulness involves “paying attention to the present moment with intention while letting go of judgment — as if our life depends on it. The present is the only real moment we have”. With so much uncertainty hovering over us it is not a surprise that this aspect of health is gaining considerable traction. COVID-19 has changed our reactionary strategy in general. To think and plan one thing now means considering several other factors. To put it frankly, our day-to-day circumstances just don’t permit it us to deal with issues singularly anymore.
Mindfulness is said to increase telomerase, which eventually reduces cell damage, strengthens our immune system, and increases concentration levels due to lower levels of stress. Even though the evidence is glaring when it comes to the benefits of mindfulness, we seem prone to panicking and filling our minds with most farfetched scenarios.
Perhaps, like incorporating mindfulness as part of our routine, we should also be intentional about the amount of mental torture we put ourselves through. We should move to accept and feel our emotions even when they are not where we want them to be. This, I believe, is essentially where mindfulness could be most effective.
