The topic of today’s crossword has been on everyone’s lips since the beginning of 2020.
Click start if you’ve already guessed it.
The coronavirus pandemic swept across the world last year, and never really left. Both Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com named “pandemic” their word of the year for 2020, while Oxford Dictionaries stated that usage of the word spiked by over 57,000 per cent last year.
It’s no wonder. Within a few months, COVID-19 upended lives around the globe. It has transformed the way we work, study, and interact – possibly for a long time to come. The past year has also seen a significant increase in the number of hospitalisations around the world, and a terrible loss of life.
In the face of such a maelstrom of adversity, it can get overwhelming. In fact, scientists who published a paper in the Psychiatry Research journal in October 2020, have developed a new form of anxiety disorder: the COVID-19 anxiety syndrome. Its characteristics include compulsive symptom-checking, worrying, avoidance and threat monitoring. It also manifests as a person being completely unable to leave the house because of pandemic fears.
One way to centre yourself and stop feeling helpless is to engage in mindful practices. The Yale Stress Centre provides tips on how to cope with the pandemic through mindfulness, on the website yalemedicine.org:
- Take a moment to pause during the day. Stop what you are thinking about or working on, and take in a few slow breaths. Be aware of the sensation of oxygen filling your lungs, and the air slowly being exhaled.
- Lie down, close your eyes, and slowly scan your body mentally from head to toe, or in reverse. Be aware of each part of the body without judgment.
- Practice S.T.O.P. – an acronym for stop, take a breath, observe your feelings, and proceed.
So, as you interact with today’s crossword, take the opportunity to slow down, step back, and think about how you are coping. Take care of your mental health in these difficult times, as you and your family will be better off for it.
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