Lockdown Survival Tips
We are currently in another Level 5 lockdown until April. This can be a challenging, and an uncertain time , and it is unbelievable to think we have been in lockdown for almost a year.
You may have heard these tips before, but I have has witnessed when his clients implement the below lockdown survival tips into their lives, their motivation increases, therefore improving their mental wellbeing.
The tips are as follows.
Sleep is vital for your mental health wellbeing. There is a debate about the 8 hours’ sleep requirement. Find out how many hours sleep you require whether it is 6, 7 or 8. Get into a good sleep routine. Go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time, and leave the iPhone, TV switched off at least one hour before you go to bed. Ensure your bedroom is a nice, cosy and sleep friendly environment to ensure a good night’s sleep.
Diet: In your daily life, have a well-balanced diet that includes proper nutritionist food. Yes, you can have the odd take away, but ensure that you eat healthy enabling you to work at full capacity to take this lockdown on.
Exercise: Yes, the Gyms and Swimming pools are currently closed. We do have our 5k radius still, so use this 5k wisely. Go out for a walk, run, or jog, and get plenty of fresh air to combat the boredom of lockdown.
Social Media: Stay away from toxic social media. There is a lot of frustration out there and people are using social media to voice their anger, and disgust of the current situation. Limit use of social media to ensure your mind is free from the toxic drama.
Clubs and Societies are not available to participate offline yet, take this as an opportunity to do research to look up societies and clubs that you would like to join when this lockdown is over. Some have a presence already online, so you can join now.
The most important survival tips that I advice my clients are as follows:
Routine: Get into a routine. Plan your day ensuring that you have boundaries between work and personal life, simple tasks like wearing work shoes while you work online and take them off when you are done, allow boundaries to be in place. We do not have an office to leave work behind, so incorporate simple tasks to maintain healthy work personal life boundaries.
Creativity: Many of my clients are finding creative skills that they once lost, particularly skills like painting, drawing, writing, journaling, cooking, and gardening. Practise mindfulness, this concept is living in the Now and present. Therefore, cooking, drawing, gardening for example brings people into the Now. These creative tools helped my clients to relax their mind and take them away from the trauma of lockdown.
Additional Support: If the current situation does get too difficult to handle. There is no harm in reaching out for help for your mental health. The HSE has incorporated a text service 50808 also, where you can text for support free of charge. These are volunteers who are highly trained to support you and to point you in the right direction for additional support. Where I am based , we in Under The Rainbow provide low cost counselling , and I provide a counselling service through my practice Inner Voice. I can be contacted via my emails dermot@undertherainbow.ie or dermot@innervoice.ie 