Mindfulness During a Pandemic

The current corona pandemic poses new challenges for everyone and is like a bad movie from which we cannot wake up. Since the corona crisis has hit with full force, people's psyche has also started to receive more attention. Studying from home, the often only digital communication and the isolation is a problem for many people. The topic of mindfulness is therefore currently experiencing a boom, because it can help you cope better with the pandemic.

By improving awareness and feeling mindfulness, you will learn to know and appreciate life in the present more intensely. With that, your acceptance and serenity will also grow.

Challenges of studying online

With the corona crisis, remote group work and digital lectures suddenly became part of everyday life, and students are now spending a lot of time on digital devices outside of the now digital lectures. The reason for this: We spend too much time with smartphones, pings and social media. Everyone can confirm from their own observations that the ability to focus is diminishing due to increasing interference. Psychological stress increases. This effect is likely to become even greater now that we are using digital devices more often than ever before.

Mindfulness helps to find peace

Regular mindfulness exercises can help here. Because the human brain is like a muscle - we can train it to deal with stress and pressure in a targeted manner and increase our own resilience. To get started, it is therefore advisable to integrate small exercises into your everyday life:

• Exercise 1: If you feel stressed, for example if you feel a pull in the pit of your stomach, you can find peace by doing short breathing meditation. To do this, take three or four deep breaths in and out. Breathing sustainably increases focus and the ability to concentrate.

• Exercise 2: Focus on the body and walk from the feet to the head. The important thing is to perceive how the body is doing and to relax. Such exercises affect our memory and planning ability.

• Exercise 3: Especially in times of studying from home, the following exercise is recommended: Imagine a fellow student to whom you are grateful. Say thank you to him or her in your thoughts and send the person a smile. Stress also has a negative effect on our ability to feel compassion. Here, meditation can help to strengthen the ability to empathise again.

We hope these exercises will help you cope better under the current stressful situation.

Stay Mindful,

TCD Mindfulness Society