Whether it’s because of the growing acceptance for mental illnesses, or the fact that our lifestyles just keep getting more stressful by the day, it’s not rare to hear of people suffering from anxiety and depression anymore. Celebrities like Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez and Deepika Padukone have openly spoken about it in an attempt to reduce the taboo around mental health.
While the most important thing for a person experiencing these is to either seek professional help or talk to someone about how they’re feeling, there are a number of things that can help bring them peace in smaller ways. One of them is having a set beauty routine. No, we’re not asking you to contour, highlight and create a cut crease eye look every single morning (even though according to a Teen Vogue article, make-up can empower women suffering from anxiety and depression and make them feel more confident). But even a basic three-step morning skin routine, where all you’re focusing on is yourself, giving yourself some time for self-care, could be the meditative start that can help you calm your nerves and ground yourself before your day begins.
For an opinion from someone closer home, we spoke with Mumbai-based psychologist Dr Sanjoy Mukherjee about this phenomenon and he agrees that the concept of a routine is beneficial. “When you feel nice about yourself, you feel nice about life. When you don’t feel good about yourself, no matter what achievements you have, you won’t actually feel good about life.” Anxiety reduces confidence and increases self-doubt. “If your body is not feeling healthy, you just won’t feel confident in the long run. You don’t need to have a perfect figure, but you just need to be happy with what you have.”
Things such as grooming and skincare could take a backseat for people experiencing a rough patch. But even taking a few minutes out in the morning every day just to wash your face, apply moisturiser and follow it up with sunscreen, can help. According to Jodi Lobozzo Aman, counsellor and author of an anxiety blog, “This [setting a routine] helps steady your mind, but also gives confidence to your emotions. In other words, you feel in control.”
Dr Mukherjee also suggests taking this time to set positive affirmations. Sending out messages into the universe like, “I am grateful for all the good things in my life”, as soon as you wake up, is a start. You can follow this with exposure to sunlight and some exercise—if you don’t feel up for too much, just take a walk. This will help you get some vitamin D and the fresh air will invigorate you. The one thing he stresses on is mindful meditation and positive self-talk every day to bring attention to your strengths. “Focus on your assets or your strong points, not what you like to do but what you are good at, your looks, your body, your mind, your talents, skills, your nature or anything else you love about yourself.”
Source – Vogue India
For more tips and tools on how to deal with anxiety, talk to a YourDOST Expert today.
