Since the beginning of the pandemic, thousands of people have adapted the face-to-face routine for the home office. Although remote work brings some advantages to the employee, on the other hand it has directly affected the quality of life, especially for Brazilians, especially their mental health.

Among the tasks of home, family and children, reconciling personal and professional life in a private office has left people overwhelmed and, consequently, much more anxious. With that in mind, we prepared some tips on how to control anxiety at home, the main enemy of Brazilians today. But first, we need to point out a fact: how workaholics (that is, a “worker”) people have become from social isolation.

What is the situation of Brazilian anxiety in the pandemic?

A survey released by Ministry of Health in September 2020 pointed out that anxiety is the most present mental disorder among Brazilians. Among the participants, 86,5% said they suffered from the disorder, followed by 45,5% who reported post-traumatic stress and 16% with depression. The impact of social isolation and the lack of balance in personal and professional activities was massive and left Brazilians much more susceptible to having frequent experiences with anxiety. 

This not only harms the individual's mental health but can also have several consequences on their performance at work. Second data released by the technology and information technology company Oracle infrastructures in October 2020, 70% of Brazilian respondents had more stress and anxiety during working hours than in any previous year.

Although most companies have adopted the home office, the quality of work of contractors has been scrapped by their accumulations. The research also revealed that 42% of Brazilians are working more than 40 hours of overtime a month. Without a brief view of when the situation might improve, a portion of people still develop the Burnout syndrome, physical and mental exhaustion as a result of work. The report of Oracle infrastructures pointed to 21% of those affected in Brazil.

What are the tips to reduce anxiety at home office?

In view of the alarming increase in the presence of anxiety among people, there are some steps you can take to, at the very least, relieve your stress during your work moments. See below:

The bottom line: breathe

It may be extremely cliché to restate this, but breathing is one of the most effective ways to ease your anxiety. As you inhale, hold, and exhale, repeating this process for a few minutes, you gain more control and focus on your body and mind.

When going through an anxiety attack, the human mind is scattered, making it much more difficult, for example, to resume activities that were being done. If you feel anxious, stop for a while, breathe and focus on getting back on track. Also, don't forget to keep hydrated.

regulate your sleep

Many Brazilians have difficulty regulating sleep, either due to overtime work or personal care. Being in one place to reconcile children — if you have them — home and home office can be very exhausting. Therefore, a good night's sleep is essential.

Our brain needs to replenish its energies in a good eight hours of sleep, on average, so that there is no physical and mental exhaustion the next day. Sleeping less and less should not become commonplace. If, for some special reason, you don't designate this time at night to sleep, try to at least compensate with naps (or small naps, depending on the case) during the day, as in breaks. Your mind will be much more willing and you, consequently, less susceptible to moments of anxiety. 

Try Meditation to Manage Anxiety

Another interesting tip is to adhere to meditation. There are several places online that you can turn to to heal your body's energy. The act of meditating brings not only stress reduction and anxiety control, but also helps in the development of focus on activities and helps in self-esteem and self-knowledge.

In a more private place in your home, you can test meditation alone or guided before or after your workday. platforms of streaming and video, such as Spotify and YouTube, have a catalog filled with ready-to-use guides. Try it!

Plan your schedule for the day or week

Organization is very important when it comes to remote work. So, knowing your personal tasks, try making a daily or weekly plan of what needs to be accomplished, in addition to your commitment to the home office.

Many people find it difficult to juggle multiple tasks at once, but by making a to-do list on a board, a notebook or even on the computer, it becomes much easier to supervise and organize your time for such needs. 

There is a tendency to worry too much about deadlines (or the lack of them) for personal and work projects as well, but goals and lack of time are not always the great villains of history. Sometimes, just the routine is not well defined and organized. And it is these occasions that can give rise to despair and anxiety. 

Be more careful with food

Some people wake up triggers after going through the stressful situation that is anxiety. One of them is the act of discounting sadness, dissatisfaction or restlessness in food. And most likely the foods they are resorted to are the fattest and heaviest.

The tip is to be careful and pay extra attention to this attitude that, although it gives you a momentary pleasurable feeling, can harm your health. A very important point to consider is to make sure that you have three full meals a day. In the rush of everyday life, the tendency is that we only make small snacks to fill the little time, but this is not at all advisable.

It is important that the individual has a basic understanding of what and when to eat. Even though the tempting menu of the delivered come to your eyes, do not give up having a regulated diet and, preferably, balanced and healthy, as far as possible.

Organize your workspace 

Your bedroom, your living room, or maybe even your kitchen may have become your “office” after the home office started. There are always room adaptations that can be made to reserve a pleasant space for your work, and it is of great interest that this place is properly organized.

With a notebook or PC, keyboard and mouse in hand, all you need is to find your corner and turn it into the most comfortable space possible, from decoration to the arrangement of objects. The whole organization will make sure you don't get lost and the least amount of stress turns into chaos. Here in the showmetech you can access other valuable tips from how to set up a good structure at home to help you in the home office.

If possible, take short breaks during work

In the daily rush, anxiety can take you by surprise. As much as you have hundreds of issues to solve, you won't always be able to stand the stress for too long. For this, try to take small breaks during the work moment to “cool your head”.

Since your home has become your place of work, bring that to your advantage. You can set alarms on your cell phone to remind you to relax a little in case it is too difficult for you to let go of your computer during your entire working day. In a few minutes, recomposing yourself and maintaining recurring hydration, the experience becomes much lighter and you will be more willing and active to finish your tasks.

Physical exercise is an ally

Stretching throughout the day and sticking to a steady exercise routine can go a long way toward helping your mental health. It may seem simple, but it's in these while you stimulate your physique that your mind will also be active. 

For example, while stretching on one of your short breaks, your brain will be more agile and, as a result, you may come up with new ideas for your professional activities. Your mind will be much more relaxed and ready to re-engage with pending projects, without leaving room for possible inconvenience.

Discover a relaxing hobby

Every person knows their preferences when it comes to work routine. Many like to work in complete silence, but others prefer the help of others - these we will call here "hobbies relaxing”. That's because some activities during work can help you relieve tensions and stimulate more the creative process of your actions.

As possibilities to take advantage of to test in your home office, you can: listen to a playlist with songs that pleases you, listen to podcasts that can be your partner for more mechanical work, for example, or, if you want to go deeper, experience the sensation of recent times: the so-called Autonomous Sensory Response of the Meridian, better known as ASMR. 

In the latter case, it wouldn't be exactly that ASMR you might look for to fall asleep. You can, for example, search for videos that use soft speaking (“soft talk”, in free translation) to calm you in anxious moments. These are just options from a wide range of hobbies that can be incorporated unpretentiously into your day.

Talk to friends and, depending on the case, look for a professional

When it comes to mental health problems, such as the so common anxiety, you need to make sure there are ways to get around and improve the current situation. If you don't feel comfortable or are going through intense crises, talk to your close friends to vent and, watching the problem grow, look for a professional.

Many times we tend to take care of physical health much more than mental health, but it is just as important. Although it is feasible to follow tips like the ones we have shown in this article, do not hesitate to seek help if you need it. There is a large health network in cities across Brazil that can offer care, including free and paid ones, and help to greatly improve your quality of life.

See also:

Did you like our tips to reduce anxiety at home office? Want to see more similar content? See too how to assemble a pc for your home office.

https://www.showmetech.com.br/home-office-notebooks-e-acessorios/

Sources: PEBMED | Paulista Institute of Psychiatry | virtue | PC Mag