Managing mental health during quarantine and self-isolation
This past week, I have had so many clients talking to me about fear of the unknown, frustration, sadness, and loss, so many different emotions going on for them right now! I have noticed that as the time in quarantine goes on, I am beginning to feel more tense and unsure. A few days ago, simple trip to the supermarket made me feel panic and high anxiety for several hours!
It’s really got me thinking, that my normal optimistic and upbeat nature is not coming naturally right now, I am feeling the weight of the situation and if I do not take discerning action it will take its toll!
First of all, it is NORMAL to feel worried, sad, stressed, confused, or fearful during a crisis situation. These feelings are caused by our bodies responding to the perceived threat by releasing high levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.
So first of all, go easy on yourself and practice some compassion because the anxiety you feel is your body working hard to try and keep you safe, all feelings and responses have their place.
We are going through very difficult times and there is no rule book for teaching us how to deal with the stress of this particular situation. The fear and unknown of the situation can cause many strong emotions, like excessive worry and anxiety in both children and adults. Learning how to cope well under these difficult circumstances is a fantastic opportunity to learn how to not only cope, but thrive, in extreme conditions.
We need to be making conscious choices to cultivate a sense of safety and positivity in our lives, we cannot wait for something else to come along and bring us joy. It is a choice we have to make right now!
Below are the things that have come up in session this week that I am going to use to make sure that I am trying to stay calm and well during this difficult time! I sincerely hope you can find something in there that is useful for you.
Self-care
Now more than ever, It is more important to add some self-care into your daily routine. It can be as easy as adding a few minutes of quiet time to your morning routine, or making a few simple choices throughout the day.
If, like me, there are many people in your house it might mean that you are living on top of each other, so think about getting up a half hour earlier to do something for yourself! You could read a book, meditate, practice gentle stretching, or just sit quietly and sip your morning drink.
Nutrition
We all know that you get out of your body what you put into it. It is hard right now, with fresh fruits and vegetables being scarce on the shelf but try to do what you can to eat a well balanced diet because it is going to have an enormous effect on your emotional well being.
Try and drink an extra glass of water in the morning, afternoon and before bedtime. Make sure you are getting a portion of vegetables or fruit with each meal, it doesn’t have to be complicated, just be mindful of eating too much processed and sugary foods at this time.
Exercise
I understand how hard this is for some people, some of us just aren’t very athletic minded. This is the perfect opportunity to try something new! There are so many free workout apps and videos right now, many organisations are offering their apps for free! Just see how good it can feel to add some movement into your day, even if it’s as little as 10 minutes!
Unplug
Of course It is OK to watch the news and check into social media to see how your friends and family are getting on during these tough times! However, balance is key and keeping your favourite news channel on 24/7 is going to do nothing but feed into your fear and cultivate unease.
As hard as this is, try to limit your screen time, this doesn’t mean don’t work, don’t look at Facebook etc. It just means take regular breaks and come into the world.
Look around the room, stand up and walk around, go outside if you can, or simply stop and take 5 mindful deep breaths!
Routine
Keeping to some sort of a routine is going to help you feel grounded and motivated. So make sure you are still doing some of the things that you normally do each day, like getting dressed, doing your make-up or your hair, showering, getting ready for your day! It will bring some normality to this unusual situations we all find ourselves in!
Practice gratitude
This might be the most important thing you can do for yourself right now, and I think I have all of my clients doing gratitude journals right now! I promote this because it has made such a huge impact in my own life!
It is easy, each day, you sit down, take 3 deep breaths, breath in for a count of 4 and our for 6. Then write down 3 things that you are grateful for today. Let’s face it, life is sort of like groundhog day at the moment, so this might look like.
- the beautiful taste of fresh orange juice this morning
- the shining sun
- my faith keeping me feeling strong
Do this every single day and then when you are feeling low or anxious you can look back on your lists and you will see that even in the darkest hours there are rays of light.
Where there is darkness, light will always follow, it’s there I promise, you just have to look for it. You don’t need to go back into your past, or far into the future, it is important to find things right now, today that bring you joy, the small things that you are the most grateful for.
I am sincerely praying that love and light finds their way into your life during these difficult times! If you are struggling I am offering telephone and Zoom sessions and am always here to talk.
Grace and peace xx
