As more and more of us find ourselves confined to home worldwide, one of the things most likely to suffer is our mental health. Our whole life has changed with work, school and social activities cancelled for most people. It is hard to not become totally overwhelmed by stress and anxiety at tthis time, whether about illness, money, loved ones or the global situation.
As it becomes increasingly more difficult to remain calm and not panic, it's vital to remember how to cope and manage our mental health. Just because the authorities have told us to say at home does not mean that we should go crazy inside and solely focus our attention on what is happening in the world outside.
Protect Yourself
Firstly, hard as it is, try to limit how much news you watch, especially some of the overhyped reporting that only serves to propagate fear and anxiety. Choose one reliable news source (e.g. Channel 4 or BBC news in the UK) and First and get updates and facts solely from there. Watch the new once a day, rather than staying alert to online or TV/radio for constant updates.
And then focus your attention elsewhere for the rest of the day.
If your children are at home, make the most of this unique period of time together. Instead of making them sit down to endless school work, websites and worksheets, enjoy being together by planning more fun activities that involve accidental learning.
Find lots of fun ideas for families here:
School Closure: You Do NOT Have to Teach Your Kids
150 Fun Activities for Kids to Do at Home
Of course, you should follow government and WHO guidelines. Avoid contact with other people and wash your hands more carefully, but remember that your ability to remain calm and protect your mental health comes from within.
That means taking the necessary steps to reduce your stress and anxiety.
Here are three of the best ways that you can stay calm and centered in these difficult times:
Meditation
If you've never attempted meditation or any mindfulness techniques in the past, this is the perfect time to try them out.
According to the Mayo Clinic, meditation can play a huge role in helping you to maintain your mental and emotional health, even benefiting aspects of your physical health.
Here’s what meditation can offer you:
● A more positive outlook on life
● Increased feelings of calmness
● Greater self-awareness
● Reduced levels of anxiety and stress
● Improved focus
There are lots of different types of meditation. You can find out more in this guide.
If you’re able to focus for long periods of time, you might want to try out guided meditations or visualization techniques.
When you’re looking to stay more active while you’re quarantined, you can give yoga or Pilates a go with online lessons and guides.
Creativity & Mindfulness
You might be stuck in the house for the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean you have to resort to going stir crazy. In fact, that’ll probably only increase your feelings of panic during such trying times!
This is a great time to try out some new (or old) creative hobbies. When you’re focused on building or creating something new, you’re reducing the amount of focus on the negativity surrounding you. That means creativity is a solid way of helping you to relax.
A creative outlet can be almost anything. Here are a few things you might want to try:
● Painting, colouring, or drawing
● Singing or playing musical instruments
● Taking photos or making videos
● Building something
● Writing essays, short stories, poetry or prose
● Puzzles
● Reading
Basically, the goal here is to find an activity or task that requires an intense amount of focus and makes you happy. You won’t even notice that you spent the last hour drawing your favourite cartoon character or sketching a vase of flowers from the garden.
More ideas of things to do at home
Giving Back & Helping Others
It’s completely natural to be fearful of the unknown, but giving back to others can help you to tackle this fear head on. When you’re giving back to the community or helping those in need, you’ll be working to spread compassion and happiness rather than fear and anxiety.
With so many people sick or self-quarantined, there are plenty of things you can do to help. From making phone calls to cheer people up to physically helping by collecting groceries etc.
As long as you’re keeping your distance and not exposing anyone to the virus, you can deliver food and other essentials or medicines. It’ll make you feel good about yourself while also helping those who need it!
So, call your neighbours, post something on a local Facebook group to let those in need know you are available and how to get in contact.
Stay Calm
In these difficult times it is hard to stay calm, and difficult to feel so powerless. You can’t do anything yourself on a large scale, but there are things you can do that can reduce your panic and invoke an overwhelming sense of calm.
By taking advantage of mindfulness, looking for a creative outlet, and even giving back to those who need it, you’ll be able to stay calm and centered, even now!
Stay safe x
Pin it:
As it becomes increasingly more difficult to remain calm and not panic, it's vital to remember how to cope and manage our mental health. Just because the authorities have told us to say at home does not mean that we should go crazy inside and solely focus our attention on what is happening in the world outside.
Protect Yourself
Firstly, hard as it is, try to limit how much news you watch, especially some of the overhyped reporting that only serves to propagate fear and anxiety. Choose one reliable news source (e.g. Channel 4 or BBC news in the UK) and First and get updates and facts solely from there. Watch the new once a day, rather than staying alert to online or TV/radio for constant updates.
And then focus your attention elsewhere for the rest of the day.
If your children are at home, make the most of this unique period of time together. Instead of making them sit down to endless school work, websites and worksheets, enjoy being together by planning more fun activities that involve accidental learning.
Find lots of fun ideas for families here:
School Closure: You Do NOT Have to Teach Your Kids
150 Fun Activities for Kids to Do at Home
Of course, you should follow government and WHO guidelines. Avoid contact with other people and wash your hands more carefully, but remember that your ability to remain calm and protect your mental health comes from within.
That means taking the necessary steps to reduce your stress and anxiety.
Here are three of the best ways that you can stay calm and centered in these difficult times:
Meditation
If you've never attempted meditation or any mindfulness techniques in the past, this is the perfect time to try them out.
According to the Mayo Clinic, meditation can play a huge role in helping you to maintain your mental and emotional health, even benefiting aspects of your physical health.
Here’s what meditation can offer you:
● A more positive outlook on life
● Increased feelings of calmness
● Greater self-awareness
● Reduced levels of anxiety and stress
● Improved focus
There are lots of different types of meditation. You can find out more in this guide.
If you’re able to focus for long periods of time, you might want to try out guided meditations or visualization techniques.
When you’re looking to stay more active while you’re quarantined, you can give yoga or Pilates a go with online lessons and guides.
Creativity & Mindfulness
You might be stuck in the house for the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean you have to resort to going stir crazy. In fact, that’ll probably only increase your feelings of panic during such trying times!
This is a great time to try out some new (or old) creative hobbies. When you’re focused on building or creating something new, you’re reducing the amount of focus on the negativity surrounding you. That means creativity is a solid way of helping you to relax.
A creative outlet can be almost anything. Here are a few things you might want to try:
● Painting, colouring, or drawing
● Singing or playing musical instruments
● Taking photos or making videos
● Building something
● Writing essays, short stories, poetry or prose
● Puzzles
● Reading
Basically, the goal here is to find an activity or task that requires an intense amount of focus and makes you happy. You won’t even notice that you spent the last hour drawing your favourite cartoon character or sketching a vase of flowers from the garden.
More ideas of things to do at home
Giving Back & Helping Others
It’s completely natural to be fearful of the unknown, but giving back to others can help you to tackle this fear head on. When you’re giving back to the community or helping those in need, you’ll be working to spread compassion and happiness rather than fear and anxiety.
With so many people sick or self-quarantined, there are plenty of things you can do to help. From making phone calls to cheer people up to physically helping by collecting groceries etc.
As long as you’re keeping your distance and not exposing anyone to the virus, you can deliver food and other essentials or medicines. It’ll make you feel good about yourself while also helping those who need it!
So, call your neighbours, post something on a local Facebook group to let those in need know you are available and how to get in contact.
Stay Calm
In these difficult times it is hard to stay calm, and difficult to feel so powerless. You can’t do anything yourself on a large scale, but there are things you can do that can reduce your panic and invoke an overwhelming sense of calm.
By taking advantage of mindfulness, looking for a creative outlet, and even giving back to those who need it, you’ll be able to stay calm and centered, even now!
Stay safe x
Pin it:
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