More turn to mindfulness, mental wellness programmes to cope with stress from COVID-19
SINGAPORE: Minutes into a mindfulness workshop, a participant tears upwardly every bit she tells the people gathered in the room that she hopes to get assist as she feels she is "not doing well" in life.
She apologises for the mild flare-up but moderator Associate Professor Angie Chew tells her it's okay, and an assistant offers a hug.
Of the more than 30 participants at the workshop, a fair number shared that they accept experienced sudden changes in their lives, either due to the COVID-19 pandemic or a family member falling ill.
They were hoping to larn techniques to better manage their stress or anxiety at the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) workshop organised by not-profit organisation Brahm Centre, which started on January 5.
MBSR workshops, created by Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979, helps people cope with stress, low or anxiety. A secular practice, information technology is now offered in many settings around the globe, including hospitals, schools and prisons.
READ: How to manage your New Year expectations amid the doubt of 2021
"I suppose (this is) considering people have no idea where to go. So this is not just a physical getaway but it'due south a mental vacation," said Assoc Prof Chew. "Because it's overthinking that causes burnout."
She told CNA that there take been more inquiries near the heart's mindfulness courses since the "excursion breaker" period in April, and there is a waitlist for their classes and workshops.
The heart trained more than than 23,000 people concluding year, a 3-fold increase from 2019. A large number of these were from corporate workshops, and likewise from a mindfulness conference in August that saw 5,000 people sign upward.
More than CORPORATE WORKSHOPS
Yoga and meditation studios told CNA that they have seen a like state of affairs - mindfulness classes, which tend to be in pocket-sized groups, are oversubscribed.
The Singing Basin Gallery, which focuses on sound meditation, now holds daily classes due to restrictions on class sizes and increased demand. The number of people who attend its classes each month has increased from 15 earlier the pandemic to about forty people.
Ms War War Lwin Tun of Ohmsantih Yoga said that she used to go more requests to run physical yoga workshops, just final year, the number of meditation and mindfulness workshops for companies went up significantly. She now runs at least four such events a month.
"I call up companies as well have that awareness now that my employees may be more than stressed than before," she said.
READ: Mental well-being during COVID-xix: The rising of intimate sharing sessions with strangers
Ms Dawn Sim, director at The Open Eye, which runs mindfulness and mental resilience programmes, said that more people have come forrard to have their courses. In add-on, the corporate workshops they run have switched from focussing on leadership to being nigh managing stress and anxiety.
Health Can Be Fun, a wellness consultancy that helps organise wellness workshops, has also seen the number of mental health programmes they run increase about three times in 2020, from one or 2 a quarter to one a 2 a calendar month.
Companies from a range of industries have shown interest in preparation for stress direction, mindfulness and resilience building, and workshops that teach breathing techniques and art-based therapy take proven to be popular, a company spokeswoman said.
"In Asia and Singapore, at that place has often been a stigma surrounding mental health and seeking aid. However, COVID-19 has certainly changed the landscape. Since the start of COVID-19, many companies and individuals feel the impact of poor mental wellness and health," she said.
WHY THE INCREASE?
The emergence of a new affliction and the effects it has had on society and the economy may have something to exercise with this miracle.
The fear and anxiety triggered by COVID-nineteen and its consequences can be overwhelming for some, said Ms Sara-Ann Lee, a senior clinical psychologist from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
"The pandemic has emphasised the importance of mental wellness given that many countries had to enforce policies that required physical distancing among individuals in order to control the spread of the virus."
She added that many reported feeling lonely, isolated and depressed due to "lockdown" measures in many countries.
READ: COVID-nineteen: Worries about pandemic see more calls to mental health helplines
READ: It isn't all about mental disorders — the little-known casework washed in IMH's emergency room
In Singapore, the circuit breaker lasted for two months and many employees lost their jobs or had their pay cut, while some businesses struggled to survive despite substantial subsidies from the Government.
Most people accept had to adapt to safety distancing measures and new rhythms as schools and offices shifted to their homes.
Travel restrictions which take stopped people from going overseas for leisure may also have led to the increase in demand for mental health programmes, every bit people have more fourth dimension in Singapore, some studios said.
More Help AVAILABLE
In October, the Government fix upward a COVID-19 Mental Wellness Taskforce to tackle the pandemic's impact on mental health.
Announcing the formation of the task strength on Oct 10, which was World Mental Health Day, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that with COVID-nineteen, more people are facing stresses, pressures and disruptions to their lives and livelihoods.
"Health authorities around the world must not only fight COVID-19, just too manage its touch on on the mental wellness of their populations," he said and then.
The Ministry of Wellness Part for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT), along with other public service agencies, has also launched the mindline.sg website, which helps people appraise their mental well-being and consolidates resource that they can tap to cope with stress. In mid-October, an AI penguin chatbot named Wysa was added to the site.
Every bit of December 28, more than 100,000 have used the site, MOHT said.
READ: COVID-19 touch on on mental health must be managed, as more people face stress and disruption: PM Lee
Ms Wong Yin Li, who heads the youth partitioning of Fei Yue Community Services, said that resources such as mindline can be useful because people tin seek help anonymously and in their own time.
"Information technology is very good for clients who need to understand more and feel safer before they tin can do the next step of going for contiguous services," she said.
Practitioners CNA spoke to too suggested that those who desire to start practising mindfulness tin have a taste of it by turning to mobile apps, earlier deciding if they want to commit to classes or workshops.
Ms Sim said: "They can outset anywhere, someday ... there are lots of good apps around, and if they want more back up, so they can sign upwards with ane of the centres. It's a style of life and they don't take to wait until they terminate that projection, or when they resign."
WAYS TO RECOGNISE AND Reply TO STRESS
IMH's Ms Lee said that in the new year, an increased focus on mental wellbeing is likely to continue as people beginning to become more enlightened nigh these issues and accept steps to look subsequently their own mental wellbeing.
"Stress is a normal part of our 24-hour interval to mean solar day lives, fifty-fifty more so that the fight against COVID-19 continues. Nosotros all need to be able to recognise and answer by developing good for you ways to cope with stress," she said.
Ms Lee recommends that people command the amount of data they read regarding the pandemic and trust merely reputable sources of information.
IN FOCUS: The challenges immature people face in seeking mental health help
They should too try to maintain work-life remainder despite working from home past setting advisable boundaries and sticking to a regular work schedule if possible.
"Have care of your torso by ensuring acceptable diet and sleep, coupled with exercise. Make time for self-care activities to relax and unwind," she added.
Assoc Prof Chew said in that location are times when it can be hard to manage one'south repetitive thoughts and worries, despite resolving to do and so - which is when mindfulness techniques tin can be useful.
Very often, it's the disability to let go of what has happened that leads to suffering and negative emotions perpetuating, and having the right "foundational attitudes" can assistance, she said.
"The foundational attitudes of mindfulness is to be curious so that you lot are less judgmental; to accept what y'all tin can't modify in that moment in time … to exist able to exist grateful for what nosotros already have instead of letting the mind focus on what is lacking," she said.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mental-wellness-programmes-mindfulness-courses-covid-19-stress-185451
0 Response to "More turn to mindfulness, mental wellness programmes to cope with stress from COVID-19"
Post a Comment