Keeping your cool in lockdown

You may already be aware of the serenity affirmation:

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

With so many things out of our control at the moment, it’s a timely reminder that we need to focus our energy on the things that we CAN control instead.

By putting in place a few simple actions, you can take back control and stay physically and mentally well during COVID-19 restrictions and beyond.

Take control of the controllables

Get moving
Just because the gym is shut, it doesn’t mean you have to stop exercising. In fact, it’s one of the best things you can be doing for yourself right now to help keep yourself in a positive headspace. During exercise, your brain releases endorphins that make you feel euphoric and energised for hours. It doesn’t need to be anything drastic. Even something as simple as going for a brisk 30-minute walk can greatly improve your mental state and energy for the entire day. It also helps you sleep better and can assist with weight and chronic disease prevention and management.

It’s one of the few reasons that you can leave your house, so why not take advantage of it. Remembering to socially distance of course!

Don’t just tell yourself you’re going to do it either. Try setting yourself aside a designated 30 minutes in your calendar each day to hold your self accountable – perhaps it’s that extra 30 minutes when you’d usually be stuck in traffic heading to work.

Eat well
It can be tough to avoid the temptation of so called ‘comfort food’ when you’re stuck at home all day with the kitchen on standby. But just remember, when you eat well, you feel well.

Instead of reaching for the chocolate, opt for whole, nutritious foods that will provide your body and brain with the essential nutrients they need to function optimally. It’ll improve your mental state, making you feel much happier and healthier.

Healthy eating doesn’t have to be overly complicated. A good starting point is to switch just one of your meals for something more nutritious and gradually increase this. You can also avoid the temptation to ‘comfort food’ altogether by keeping it out of the house in the first place, or at least keeping it well hidden from yourself when you’re stuck at home all day.

Ditch the day drinking
While it may seem like a good idea to drink the time and frustration away, reaching for the bottle opener will inevitably make you feel worse.

Alcohol effects the neurotransmitters in our brain which regulate mood and sleep, negatively impacting how we think and feel. Try and find some less harmful methods of switching off or staying entertained – listen to music, read a book, exercise, cook up a storm, get your DIY on or talk with a mate. Finding things that you enjoy doing will provide so much more benefit and won’t leave you with a hangover in the morning.

Stay connected
You don’t have to stay isolated in isolation. Social connection is essential for maintaining your mental wellbeing. The methods of contact may be different, but thanks to technology we can now connect face to face with anyone around the world! Be sure to Zoom, Skype, Facetime, etc. regularly with friends and family. Sharing a laugh (or cry) with your loved ones will make a huge difference to how you feel.

Practice being grateful
Take a moment to turn off the doom and gloom on the news and reflect on what is good in your life. Maybe it’s your family, your friends, your health, the sun is out, or the kid’s finally stopped fighting. Whatever it may be, noticing the ‘good’ will help boost your mood and gain some perspective on the situation.

So, while COVID restrictions are obviously having a considerable on our normal daily lives, focus instead for the opportunities that having more time at home is creating. For example, now that you’re not commenting to and from work every day, you could spend that extra time:

• connecting with family,
• establishing a regular exercise routine,
• finishing off some projects around home,
• working on self-improvement, such as: reading more, cooking more, or learning a new skill, or
• simply just spending some time relax for a change.
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Support your team
If you are a business leader, it’s also important during these times that you are keeping a check on the wellbeing off your employees. Even if they are working from home, you still have a duty to ensure their psychological and physiological health and safety. Our online mental health workshops are an accessible solution that can help you address the risks and support your team when they need it the most.

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