Tips to overcome the lockdown effects

I'm sharing in this post my experience with the lockdown, how it affected me emotionally and physically, and how I'm trying to overcome these effects. A partial lockdown started here in March, one of my cats was very sick at that time, and there were hardly any open veterinary clinics at this time. I was beyond terrified of losing her. She was in a lot of pain. I took her to a vet that was about 20 kilometers away from my home.

For weeks we tried to save her, but we weren't lucky. She passed away. I was devastated. She died around 2 pm on a Friday. One of my neighbors helped me to bury her. It was one of the most horrible experiences in my life.

So yeah, the lockdown started with my youngest cat's sudden death. I was heartbroken. I was surrounded by sadness. I haven't moved on from her death until now. I still cry. I still hear her meows. I miss her hugs so much.

Now you can imagine my emotional state. I couldn't even get out of bed, but my best friend told me to pretend that I was fine so my other cats and dog wouldn't feel depressed. I tried my best to seem okay for their sake.

I'm germophobic, having sanitizer gel, washing my hands after touching doorknobs, and social distancing are things that I do normally.

I'm also an introvert, so canceled dinner parties don't make me sad. I can stay at home for days without being irritated. I'm completely fine with being alone.

BUT when these measures were mandatory, that was really frustrating for me. I have found myself wanting to get out and talk with people. That's not important for me normally. What's happening to me?

I spent hours with my best friend talking online. We were starting to freak out during the second week of the lockdown. We both followed the measures.

I was so worried that I would get sick, not for me, but I was afraid of infecting my mom, she's a cancer survivor and her immune system is very weak.

Being afraid for my mom's safety was very stressful for me. I'm also an empath so hearing about someone being sick and thousands of people getting infected around the world is very hard for me.

I took a couple of days off from following the news, so I won't be too overwhelmed. It didn't work. My anxiety levels were skyrocketing.

My mom encouraged me to take my dog for walks. It helped me a little to control my fears. My best friend motivated me to work out at home daily, even for 10 minutes with "Fitness Blender" and "Yoga with Adriene".

I gained weight, stress makes me overeat, also it seems impossible for me to lose weight when I'm stressed.

I work from home. I don't go to work daily but I have weekly meetings that are now online zoom meetings.

I miss traveling. I'm looking forward to traveling again.

Now many people are trying to overcome the effects of the lockdown, I have a few tips:

-Take the necessary precautions for your safety and the safety of your loved ones.

-Stay connected with your best friend (online is better- talk for hours about anything)

-Work out at home or take walks or both.

-Hug your pets.

-Practice gratitude (write five things that you're grateful for every night before you go to bed) and forgiveness.

-Meditate even for five minutes.

-Dance in your room.

-Listen to your favorite songs and watch your favorite movies.

-Read a book.

-Tweet your thoughts. I think Twitter is awesome in expressing your emotions.

-Write a journal.

-Notice beautiful things around you (tree, neighbor's cat, the sky, and many other things)

- Smile.

-Tweet your favorite celebrity, connect with them, if they see your comments or tweets they might feel happy (good karma).

-Do good (participate in a charity feed stray animals or donate your unneeded clothes).

-Be optimistic. Everything will be okay.

-Take care of yourself. Take your vitamins.

-Eat well.

-Sleep well.

-Be the reason for someone else's smile.