Taking Care of Your Mind, Body and Soul
April 6, 2020
For every country, things change every day; never more so than now. Dealing with a pandemic is a tremendous challenge in itself, but further consequences (particularly how we cope both physically and mentally) are also difficult to overcome.
Here at GreenEarth, we have been looking for a variety of coping mechanisms that can apply to you, your family and your customers.
Having concerns about the virus is of course rational. But people also have concerns about their businesses, their jobs, living in isolation, adjusting to working from home, homeschooling, being on complete lockdown, and of course, adjusting to being with your household 24/7…or indeed a few of the above.
There are three areas to focus on whilst dealing with the ‘new normal’ of isolated living:
1: Physical wellbeing: You might be used to a little exercise or a lot. Either way, spending a significant amount of time at home can mean that you may end up not being as fit, flexible and even put on a few pounds.
U.K. Fitness guru Joe Wicks has set up a Physical Education class every morning at 9 am (U.K. time), aimed at children but challenging enough for adults. Also, he gives advice on how to make the exercise harder, so that the fittest can work at their own pace. Lasting for 30mins, it’s a good way to start the day both physically and mentally. You can join live or catch up via YouTube.
For those who are looking for regular but gentler exercise try some stretches or armchair exercises. The NHS website in the UK provides some great exercises.
2. Nutrition is clearly important for both physical and mental wellbeing. With certain grocery items difficult to get ahold of, keeping to your usual diet can be difficult. Also, balance can be difficult, trying to use up fresh ingredients before they’re past their best and being able to make room in the freezer for extra portions. For recipes of 5 ingredients or less, take a look at the BBC Good Food Website.
Life Hack: Freeze any wedges or slices of orange, lemon or lime on a tray in the freezer and once frozen and return to the freezer. It can be used in cooking and they also make a great flavored ice-cube for a gin and tonic!
3. Mental Health: Some of the impacts are more around mental health as much as they are physical. For all the reasons around rational concerns regarding the virus, from isolation to feeling crowded, this can leave people with feelings of anxiety, depression, and frustration.
AnxietyUK recommends the following the APPLE technique to help cope, which consists of the following:
- Acknowledge: Notice and acknowledge the uncertainty as it comes to mind.
- Pause: Don’t react as you normally do. Don’t react at all. Pause and breathe.
- Pull back: Tell yourself this is just the worry talking, and this apparent need for certainty is not helpful and not necessary. It is only a thought or feeling. Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are not statements or facts.
- Let go: Let go of the thought or feeling. It will pass. You don’t have to respond to them. You might imagine them floating away in a bubble or cloud.
- Explore: Explore the present moment, because right now, in this moment, all is well. Notice your breathing and the sensations of your breathing. Notice the ground beneath you. Look around and notice what you see, what you hear, what you can touch, what you can smell. Right now. Then shift your focus of attention to something else – on what you need to do, on what you were doing before you noticed the worry or do something else – mindfully with your full attention.
For further advice and support, visit https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/
Mental health charity Mind also has a lot of support for people to cope with “staying at home,” including practical advice, checklists and self-care.
The charity provides a lot of information on their website to deal with how anxious you feel about the virus and how it might affect you, through to practical advice about staying at home.
The advice covers nutrition/hydration, you and your medication, your care needs or if you care for others, how to relax and be creative, and much more.
And don’t forget to have some fun, using your social media channels positively. Keeping abreast of the news can be useful but put simply, too much can be too much.
Many performers and artists are now broadcasting via YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter – take a look and you might find something of interest.
If you need any support from the GreenEarth family, please do reach out to us.
Take care and stay safe!
By: Garry Knox
