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This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Gabriella Caroline Andrioni, a nineteen-year-old woman and a third-year medical student at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), in the interior of Brazil. She is affiliated to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.
Taking pills for anxiety is something I do for almost a year now. When everything started, I was in a very good mood. I thought I would control myself through this and just read the news while I rested at home. But mental health is not about taking pills. Somedays I would be joyful and do embroidery just to learn something new and somedays I would do it the entire day to keep my hands occupied and to not focus on the number of deaths.
When I realized my mental scenario was getting into a thriller movie, I did what a lot of anxious people do: spent hours on the internet making crazy researches. Here is something that I learned: everyone is doing everything they can do to lessen the burden, but not everything will relieve your burden.
I started to meditate and doing yoga every evening because I feel this makes me more present and my mind more part of my body, but I won’t cook recipes because this makes me more aware that things may not work out even though you’re trying your best. My roommate, on the other hand, plays online games every night because he thinks his stress goes away and he can sleep better, but he won’t exercise because this makes him go out of his comfort zone. There is no recipe for getting into your particular healthy mental state.
The quarantine is a period in which the social is so important that the individual is what makes the difference. You have to look inside first and see what works out for you so then you can express yourself into the world within the social issue. Therefore, having or not having a routine is something you decide, as well as what you want to do with your time of self-care. Experiment things and choose those that makes you comfortable. In Brazil, we have the expression “fan of possibilities” when there are numerous options for a decision. Quarantine is a kilometric fan of possibilities and you have to decide what lessens your burden.
About the author
Gabriella Caroline Andrioni is a nineteen-year-old woman and a third-year medical student at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), in the interior of Brazil. She takes part in IFMSA Brazil and is a local director of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace (SCORP). She is made of writing and touched by the sensibility in the social relations. Because of this, participates in every university extension she can find and still take a time to do online courses between the classes. She believes in a free and quality health system and is searching for it.
I love this and I agree with all the point delivered. There is no one recipe of formula to keep oneself on their toes. We need to suit our selves and relax. Nice Article Gab.😊😀 I have learnt from this.