How to relieve yourself from stress during pandemic

By Nor Hazimah Sukri

Last month, we were saddened by the news of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia. The numbers are rising rapidly that have reached more than 1,000 cases in a day!

It is very worrying for all of us as this fight is not over yet, hence we should not turn a blind eye by neglecting the instructions and ignoring the standard operating procedures (SOPs) given by the government.

This drastic change had affected the public once again especially those who are from the red zone areas in Sabah, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya since they have to undergo conditional movement control crder (CMCO) until 9 November 2020.  

The extension of staying indoors and the practice physical distancing are bothering a lot of people’s mental and physical health especially for us students as we have to continue online learning throughout this whole period while not being able to see our friends or family, joining programmes physically or do outdoor activities together.

Since it is very tiring for us to face the screen for almost 12 hours a day (or more), we tend to get stressed out and feeling overwhelmed by it. Hence, being left alone, we struggle to express our thoughts, emotions and extra energy in a positive way.

Here are some simple activities that you can do by using the things around you to express yourself in a beneficial way:

  1. A Pen and a Paper

Yes, that’s right! All you need is a pen and a piece of paper and you are allowed to write anything. Other than that, here are some other things you can do if you have a pen and a paper:

  • Write a diary – Take a few minutes and spend some time writing what you feel or something interesting that happened on that day. The best thing about writing in a diary is, no one’s going to judge what you write. It is just between you and yourself.
  • Make a bullet journal – If you feel bored writing about your day in a normal sentence, try add some colours and illustrations to your empty page by doing a bullet journal. You can do a to-do list, set reminders or organise schedules for you daily life. –
  • Some bullet journal ideas you can follow: https://www.pinterest.com/LittleCoffeeFox/_created/
  • Create a scrapbook – Do you love keeping small things such as receipts, chocolate wrappings or tickets and don’t know where to put them? How about pasting them in a book and writing down what you feel about those things. Also, you can decorate them with some pictures and coloured papers according to your own satisfaction.

2. Sports Attire

Feeling stressed up staying at home and can’t go out? Let’s get up and get dressed, not into a fancy suit, but a sportswear! Here are some 10 simple exercises you can do in your room to keep you fit and release those energy that’s been bottled up in you:

  1. Jumping jacks
  2. Planks
  3. Sit-ups and Crunches
  4. Push Ups
  5. Stretches
  6. Walkouts
  7. Burpees
  8. High Knees
  9. Mountain Climbers
  10. Bicycle Crunches



So, that’s all you need; a pen, a paper and a sportwear to express yourself during a pandemic.

I hope this writing gives some ideas on you can do as a stress release during your free time. Take care of your health and make sure you follow the SOPs. ***

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