"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference between the two" - Reinhold Niebuhr

As the world comes together to fight the Covid-19 outbreak, time has come to a standstill. Its lockdown everywhere, people are confined to their four walls. It's already been a month of being locked behind our doors and we have now learned (more or less) to manage our work, home and kids while retaining some semblance of sanity. 

Even as we put our best foot forward to make sure that things run as they were supposed to run before the crisis - and make our kids believe that soon lives will be back on track- there are times when one feels fatigued, exhausted, depressed and fearful. 

These negative emotions are as contagious as the virus. It undermines our ability to think, manage our relationships and make smart informed choices.The unseen fear and uncertainty fueled by Covid-19 meltdown adds to the wear and tear of the mind, body and emotions - increasing a person's Allostatic load (it is defined as "the wear and tear on the body" which accumulates as an individual is exposed to repeated or chronic stress. The term was coined by McEwen and Stellar in 1993). 

High Allostatic load can adversely impact personal & mental health and requires intervention to keep it in check. Alleviating Allostatic lad requires interventions at both physical and psychological levels. 

Let us discuss the key interventions that can help us answer the questions around how to build resilience and come out of these difficult time as little scathed as possible.

1. Acceptance- solution to any problem can only be discovered once we start getting aware of what we are feeling. Denying the feeling and emotion will not help ,its better to observe the emotions.
2. Keep Calm- Calm Yourself, regardless of what is going around you. I know its easier to say than done but we can manage the stress releasing hormone (Cortisol) in just a minute. You can do breathing exercise/jumping jacks/running the stairs up and down and many more things to handle that burst of negative emotion and calm down your mind and body.
3. Talk it out - You can also talk about your feeling and emotions with your friends, spouse, kids, family or even look for external support from a third party.Sharing and venting out your turmoil will calm you and give back your resilience.
4. Change in Perspective - Once you are calm and are able to look at things with a changed perspective you will be able to let go that weaker moments and can move on and pick up the things right from where you left.
5. Improve your diet - Have a balanced diet with the right amount of greens, proteins, carbs, fat. Do not over indulge in comfort foods.

Remember, it is a time tested saying that "This too shall pass". Looking forward for good times while enjoying the present.