Changing how you perceive stress can change your body’s response to it—expert
Being kind to your mind and body is an act we often neglect when faced with stressful situations that somehow mess up how we deal with our mental wellbeing and social interactions.
More often than not, you just need to take a breather to relax your mind, especially if you feel that it’s starting to twist and turn with all sorts of emotions such as tiredness, burnout and stress.
Google’s “Wellbeing Day” yesterday, May 25, talked about promoting and protecting one’s mental well-being in this pandemic. The event was spearheaded by Dr. Ronald Del Castillo, a psychologist, consultant on social and behavior change communication, and former associate professorof mental health, public health and social policy at UP Diliman.
Del Castillo emphasized that when expanding our understanding of mental wellbeing, we can change how we perceive stress, prioritize our well-being and understand why we feel such emotions.
“When you change the way you think about stress, you can change your body’s response to it,” he said. “It turns out you’re less stressed out, you’re less anxious and you become more confident.”
Trying a different approach to stress may lead to a more confident you. There is such a thing as good stress but if it reaches a point that it is no longer affecting you in a good way, then you might need to rethink your habits to find a better way to cope.
It’s also okay to ask for help regardless of how stressed out you feel. “Stress affects our daily functioning, especially our intrapersonal relationships. When you’re stressed out, you have difficulty getting out of bed, you’re not eating, you’re not showering, your relationship with your family, loved ones and friends may be strained. We need a little extra support, and extra help to ease that kind of stress,”
Dr. Del Castillo’s tips for coping include journal writing, controlling your breathing, and identifying and letting go of the negatives.
“It doesn’t matter if you look silly when practicing self-care.” He reiterated that what’s important is prioritizing self-care and not interchanging it as an instrument of productivity.
“My invitation to you is to disconnect the tube. You should be taking care of yourself because you are valued as you are, regardless of your performance or productivity level, you are worthy as you are,” Del Castillo said.
Google also had YouTube content creators Lyqa Maravilla and Madam Ely to share their experiences in balancing the use of technology or digital media and mental wellbeing.
“Balance means that you have to be constantly moving, readjusting,” Maravilla said.
It may be as struggle for many, but as Madam Ely said, your acceptance of this and “facing it with a smile” will help to overcome it.
Madam Ely also advised aspiring content creators “to stay safe, don’t risk safety just to create content. We’re all going through our anxious moments. There are a lot of things we can do; it’s about time we explored other content that we can create non-risky ways but still be in touch with our viewers and supporters.”
Google also introduced apps such as the Dashboard, Google Assistant, Bedtime Mode, Focus Mode, and Family Conversation Guide that all function to assist in time management, prioritizing self-care and building a better and heathier relationship with yourself, and your loved ones.
They have also incorporated in their search engine a faster way for those who seek help in contacting experts or necessary hotlines when they search for related words.
