There are so many of us who struggle with ourselves, to define our own identity, and to feel empowered, let alone explain to others what we stand up for. This quarantine, as we live with our parents, who can have very different ideologies from us, and we share increasingly close space with them every day, it’s important to not forget what we stand for, and continue searching for ourselves. Many of our parents’ opinions can give us major anxiety, thus it’s important to know how to deal with that while taking steps towards our own empowerment. Many people of the LGBTQ+ community, women and other identities who don’t feel understood by their parents are facing a real challenge.
Here are 10 things you can do to feel empowered.
- Talk to a friend every day and ensure to assert your identity – Talking to a friend who understands you can create a safe space where you can share your feelings and emotions with them. Struggling in isolation not only leads to overthinking but can take a strong mental toll and be draining. You can speak to a friend about your day. This will help in easing out the anxiety and in return also make you feel empowered.
- Stay in your own space – Taking your own space at home, reading a book, listening to music, watching your favourite shows, or even using a face mask to detox can be very relaxing. It can rejuvenate you for the time you need to spend with your parents again. Every day, do a little something for yourself.
- Do not try to avoid conflict, instead engage in open discussions – Having open discussions about what you want in life instead of lying to your parents, can be much better. Every time you lie, you also lie to yourself and let a little bit of your identity diminish. You can also keep a journal to pen your thoughts and assert your identity.
- Use social media to feel validated – Social media is often seen as something negative, but you can speak about your struggles and see how many people in this world share the same ones. This will make you feel more validated. There is nothing wrong with seeking validation from people. It is a human tendency.
- Do not simply follow what your parents are telling you – Simply following what your parents tell you, and not arguing back if you want to, may reduce your capacity to be assertive in the long run. There is no harm in putting forth your thoughts, and opinions to your parents, and in saying what you truly believe. You may come with a fresh perspective or may end up changing your parents perspective.
- Do what makes you feel better – Doing a small thing like writing, dancing, singing, or makeup, anything that makes you feel better is very important. This keeps your mental health in check and prepares you for bigger challenges. Simply doing tasks that your parents have asked you to do will not help.
- Trust yourself – Imagining an argument without there existing one because it has happened in the past, can itself lead to anxiety. You need to develop a positive mind so that you don’t feel anxious and trust yourself. Imagine the scenario to be positive rather than negative and you will see the turn.
- Take up a small responsibility and feel accomplished – You can try to cook a snack for your family, draw something for a friend, write a blog, or take up any household responsibility for the day to feel better about yourself. This will make your day feel more worthwhile and accomplished.
- Create a to-do list – When you are with parents at home, it is easy to get a laid back vibe and not do anything. You don’t need to spend your entire day just watching Netflix, you can create a to-do list and do something a little more meaningful with your time which you probably really wanted to do.
- Journal about your self-image every day – You can maintain a journal that focuses on your self-image, the positive things you feel about yourself and your flaws to keep yourself in check. This journal can help you focus on your own opinions instead of the opinions of your family.
These little things can help you feel empowered, assert yourself, and feel better this quarantine.