Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world where the virus has taken over 4.5 million lives. It has not only taken the lives but also the mental health of billions of people across the globe. Research studies in different countries prove that the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression are on spike. Many people have poorer sleep and increased use of alcohol / drugs which further worsen mental health . The factors causing stress during the pandemic are health worries, death of a dear one, fear of infection / dying , fear of losing a loved one , isolation, job loss, financial worries , disrupted career plans etc. Research found that the psychological impact of the pandemic affects all age groups of people in one way or another way. So this has raised the concern about public well-being and mental health. Many studies were conducted about mental well being during this pandemic. It found that mentally tough individuals are less prone to experiencing negative emotions when placed in stressful situations. In other words having “mental toughness” has helped many people to keep the adverse mental health effects of the pandemic away.
The term Mental toughness (MT) is most often used in sport, but also applies in education , business and life in general. The psychologist Peter Clough in his book “Developing Mental Toughness”, mentioned that the common MT traits are Control, Commitment , Challenge, and Confidence (4C’s) . Research shows that people who have these traits are less likely to have negative emotions in stressful situations and display greater coping skills. We know in order to lift heavier objects we need more physical strength. Like that, to overcome bigger challenges we need more mental strength. Mental toughness is not an inborn talent. If you have grit and consistency you can develop mental strength . If you are a low confident person or you have a habit of giving up too easily, you definitely need mental skills improvement. Those who have fear of competition , difficulty to start or finish a task , difficulty in focussing, outburst of anger, lack of ability to bounce back from failures also need mental toughness training. There are in-depth mental toughness training sessions for students , parents ,business professionals and coaches. However there are some simple techniques to build mental toughness. They are as follows.
Avoid Self Criticism : Your words have power. So reframe your negative thoughts. Avoid phrases like “ I can’t do this” or “This will never work”. Instead of that think “If i work hard , i’ll achieve success”.
Build your identity: Decide the type of person you want to be and prove it. For example if you want to lose body weight, you should have to be the type of person who worksout daily.
Celebrate success: Spend time to think about your past success. It boosts up your brain and makes you feel more confident to reach your goal. Also don’t forget to celebrate your friends’ success too. If your friend does something awesome ,appreciate his/her deeds.Remember resentment sucks up your mental energy.
Embrace discomfort: Experiencing discomfort is a sign of growth. A simple technique is to wait a few minutes to eat when you are hungry. This builds your tolerance for being uncomfortable. It is advisable to do water fasting once a week or month. Yogi’s do fasting not only for spiritual purposes but also for mental toughness. Fasting increases your ability to become more disciplined and focussed.
Learn from mistakes: Take the past experience as an opportunity to learn. Learn from your mistakes as well as the mistakes of others. Think about what went wrong and make sure you won’t repeat it.
Practice gratitude : Practicing gratitude is the simplest way to build mental strength. Count your blessings on a daily basis. We all are blessed in different ways. Be thankful for what you have.
Sit with emotions: Don’t ignore our painful emotions. Next time pause for a moment when you feel sad , angry or jealous. Keep your phone away.Sit down or lay down by closing your eyes and experience all the physical as well as mental sensations. Some yoga poses like Savasana , Child’s pose helps to release difficult emotions (consult with a yoga therapist for more details)
Use the 10 minute rule: Getting started is the most difficult part for every task. So next time, decide to do the task for 10 minutes when something is tempting you to stop . If you can’t focus after 10 minutes, allow yourself to quit. But in most cases the 10 minute rule works and it helps you to be productive.
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