With much of the world being advised to self-isolate for the foreseeable future, it’s important to take into account the effects this may have on well-being; not only are we bombarded daily with sad and scary news, but we are expected to give up many of our freedoms in order to do our part in stopping the spread of this pandemic. Being stuck indoors, diminishing contact with the people you care about, and giving up many of the activities which give you meaning can have a detrimental effect on mental health. Because of this, it’s important to actively support your well-being, rather than waiting for problems to arise.
What are we supposed to do in the coming weeks and months to ensure our well-being doesn’t take a serious dip? Read below for some tips. Keep in mind, it’s not about perfection or ensuring that you do each of these every day (though if you do, good for you!); it’s about engaging in behaviours that will get you through these chaotic times – potentially with a new hobby or skill!
It’s OK That Things Don’t Feel OK
Understand that feeling upset about the situation we are in is normal and acceptable. These are difficult times, and pretending that they aren’t will not do anyone any good. We’re taught to think “someone always has it worse” – which, in most cases, they do. However, this doesn’t minimise anything you might be feeling, and doesn’t make your situation any better or worse. When it comes to mental state, there is no point in making comparisons. Once you cease fighting these feelings, you will stop feeling guilty about them – and have room for more positive emotions to come through. Keep in mind that working on your well-being is a project: accepting that things aren’t great at the moment is a helpful step, but try not to get wrapped up with those feelings and instead actively try things to promote positive emotions.
Drink Water and Take Your Vitamins
It’s not rocket science – stay healthy! If you’re drinking your water, taking your vitamins, and still making healthy choices, you will be less worried about physical illness. If you aren’t taking vitamins, now is a good time to start – a little morning routine that promotes your health will go a long way in boosting your physical and mental health.
Make a Plan
As humans, we thrive on (a little bit of) structure; not only will making a daily plan or time-blocking pass some time, it’s another positive routine that will help you actually do the positive things you want to – and feel less guilty about the amount of time you might spend watching Netflix in a day! For example here was my plan for today:
9am – 1pm: Sport Psychology work; write blog, supervisory meetings, reflections
1pm – 2pm: Lunch, watch something on TV, let my brain melt
2pm – 4pm: Household chores or read (dependent on mood and motivation)
4pm – 5:30pm (ish): Spend some time outside, take the dog for a walk
5:30 onwards: Make my dad’s special chilli recipe, which will probably take an hour and a half, binge-watch The English Game on Netflix
Schedules don’t always need to include your productive activities, and not every day needs to be productive. Keep a similar schedule to what you would have had in normal, every-day life. For me, that means I’m doing nothing productive on Sundays (except for taking my vitamins!). Keep certain days for relaxing, and certain days for getting something useful done – this will also make it less difficult when we have to go back to some form of normalcy!
Move
Movement can mean anything – go for a run outside, do some housework, or do an indoor workout. Thirty minutes per day raising your heart rate has countless physical and mental benefits, and will help minimise the restlessness you may be feeling. It’s also important to make sure you spend at least 5-10 minutes per hour standing – even if it’s just getting up to make yourself a snack!
Build on Your Strengths
One fantastic way to improve your well-being is to focus on and build your strengths. There are two facets of this which you can work on now:
- Build your Character Strengths
Rather than focusing on weaknesses, positive psychology tells us to focus on our strengths since they are what provide us with resilience to get through difficult periods in life. As an exercise, look at the graphic blow and choose two of your strengths: the character traits that have made you happy, gotten you through difficult times, or helped you achieve something. Once you have chosen your top two strengths, think of ways you can build upon them. Have a love of learning? Sign up to an online course – there are plenty of free ones out there. Is kindness a strength of yours? Find out how you can still help those close to you and put it into action. Maybe include some reflection in this exercise: think about how your top two strengths have helped you throughout your life, and write it down.
- Pick a Hobby and Work on it
The same concept applies to skills; whether it’s being creative in the kitchen, taking up a new skill, painting, or reading, developing a hobby will help fill your time as well as supporting the need for mastery that all humans have. Think about a hobby or skill you have been meaning to develop for quite some time – now’s your chance!
Fresh Air
Whether you have the ability to go for a walk outside or you just throw open your window, fresh air and a bit of sunshine on your face can make a big difference to your well-being.
Stay Connected
Despite the fact that many of us will be unable to physically be around our friends and family, we may have more time than ever to communicate with them! Take the time to make a phone call, send someone a text, and make sure that you are connected to others. This will also help others with their well-being; we’re all in this together!
Detox From the News
The World Health Organisation has noted that social isolation will have a negative effect on most peoples’ mental health, and have recommended spending minimal time watching the news as one major way to combat this. Of course we all want to stay knowledgeable about what is happening, but this doesn’t mean you need a constant loop of negative news! Have a specific time of day when you watch the news, and otherwise switch it off.
Meditation
Daily meditation is one of the most common recommendations I give to clients, as it helps you learn how to banish feelings of restlessness, anxiety, and negative emotion. Even just sitting down in a comfortable position for five minutes each day and focusing on your breathing can make a big difference! If you’re interested in different types of meditation, I recommend downloading Headspsace; it has been developed by experts in the field and offers a lot of guidance.
Practice Gratitude
This may seem like a buzzword, however practicing gratitude has been linked to positive emotions, better sleep, and improved well-being. At the end of the day, write down three things you are grateful for; this has an immediate affect in that rather than thinking about something negative you might have heard on the news, a fight you had with a partner since you’ve been cooped-up together, etc., you are thinking about what makes your life good. Over time (a couple of months, not years!), this has proven to have a significant effect on well-being, and is a very easy method of improving life satisfaction.
Track Well-Being
If you read my last blog post, you’ll know how important it is to track your well-being – if you don’t know its quality during normal periods of life, how will you know when it begins to decline? Just spending three minutes in the morning taking note of your mood and why you’re feeling this way can make a big difference. For my full article on tracking well-being, click on the link below.
https://kmsportpsychology.com/2020/03/10/the-importance-of-well-being-tracking/
Well-being is important; it determines how well we function, how happy we are, what activities we engage in, how we treat others, and so on; because of this, it can be one of the most important determinants of quality of life. Since the substance of our lives has changed, lets all focus on one thing we can manage for ourselves and support in others – well-being.
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