Adjusting to Life in The Pandemic

Everyone is adjusting to the rapidly changing landscape of our lives. Familiar routines are changing radically and it is only natural to be affected, fearful and anxious for ourselves and others, whatever your personal circumstances. Daily life as we know it will be at least partly replaced with greater personal isolation at home, so finding an alternative routine with the limitations that there are, will be essential. Here are some ways that you can look after yourself and those in your immediate family and neighbourhood community.

It is all too easy when everything is unpredictable to look too far ahead and get into catastrophic thinking. Bring yourself back into the present and press pause. Focus on your breathing:

●      Breathe in for a count of 3,

●      hold for 4,

●      breathe out for 5.

●      Bring your attention constantly onto your breathing.

If you do this whenever you need to and at least twice a day this will become a helpful routine. This really helps to calm and ground your thinking.

Carrying too many anxious thoughts around in your mind can build and intensify anxiety.

●      Have a dedicated notebook or file and take at least 5 mins to write these thoughts down.

●      Read what you’ve written and decide: Is this under my influence? If it is not, then choose to park the thought. If it is under your influence, make a plan and seek help for how to take action.

●      Close the file or notebook when you are finished. This act of writing these thoughts is surprisingly cathartic.

●      The NHS has a helpful 6 minutes audio guide Anxiety control Training (NHS.uk) if you need further sound advice.

Moving from your regular routine to days which could be more unstructured can be a challenge. Why not take the schedule one day at a time to begin with? Perhaps make a difference between weekdays and the weekend. When thinking about a schedule:

●      Why not decide to get up at the same time and go to bed at the same time?

●      Divide the day into Morning, Afternoon and Evening and include a range of activities that help you feel productive, healthy, relaxed and connected to others.

●      If you are alone, then planning can be more straightforward, but connection to others becomes more difficult so make sure you take opportunities to be in touch with others.

●      Living with others can reduce isolation but intensify tension. Getting family members to discuss a daily schedule may be a way to ensure a balance of alone and together time and enable everyone to acclimatise to the new temporary norm.

How often have you started with the thought: “If I had the time, I would…”

●      Is there an opportunity to get some of those longer term plans done or to start a new hobby?

●      Reading linked to your interests could stimulate new thinking and fresh ideas.

●      Universities and Gresham College have some wonderful talks recorded and free to access online.

●      If you allocate a fixed amount of time to this kind of activity each week day, it will keep your mind focused on something productive that will benefit you in the longer term when normal routines return.

●      Look beyond the current situation to a time when normal routines return. Visualise yourself being out and about in the world with more freedom. Make this picture in your mind and revisit it regularly.

●      Ask yourself what you would like to be different for you when that time returns. From those ideas set yourself some goals in terms of your head, body, heart.

●      Perhaps you want to feel fitter, healthier, more relaxed; or more on top of some aspect of your work; or more connected with friends and family, better at playing the guitar…

●      When you have decided what you want, decide on some daily actions and routines that will lead you to that goal and build them into your daily schedule.

●      Whenever possible, walk or run outside preferably in a green space; keep a distance of 3 metres from any other person you may meet. Perhaps offering to walk a neighbour’s dog would be helpful.

●      Move your body regularly, stretch, dance to your favourite music, sing out loud, or climb up and down the stairs if you have some.

●      Practise yoga
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZpkRAcgws4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaoV1PrYft4

●      Or Zumba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X8eftN2mv0&list=PL3-QAt5Lrsg4drlxMT3Eqskc2vu4Us35L https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXDvdCDAyHo&list=PL3-QAt5Lrsg4drlxMT3Eqskc2vu4Us35L&index=3

●      Or Body weight work outs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAXg3cM0UCw

Regularly reach out and connect with others to talk things through and where it’s possible to take a lead in keeping spirits up by phone, social media and video links.

●      What about using meeting platforms websites like zoom or skype to socialise and perhaps have an external focus like a book group or film review of something you have watched on Netflix. This could be a weekly event and would give a purposeful activity to add to your schedule.

●      If you normally attend a group for exercise, meditation, music making- could you ask if that could somehow be organised on line by the teacher/trainer. Having to log in to an on line event for which you have to prepare could give a welcome focus.

Why not spread kindness by helping family, neighbours and the wider community?

●      Could you shop for someone who is self - isolating? (people over 70 in particular) but do not make contact – you need to stand 3 meters away when dropping things off and don’t enter their home.

●      See if any elderly neighbours or people living alone nearby would appreciate a phone call each day (no visiting).

●      Perhaps there are groups in your area who are co-ordinating voluntary efforts to support those who are vulnerable in the community. Check your local area for such groups.

●      Strike the balance of keeping informed and constantly responding to the news. Decide when you want to catch up on news and then decide to do something else to look after yourself. Possibly do something physical and practical to allow your emotions to settle.

●      If you are unduly affected by the impact of the situation, please talk to someone and seek help.

This can be done alone or with others and if written down provides a record of good things that come out of this situation,

Talk about and write down:

●      One thing you have done to make people happy.

●      One thing someone had done to make me happy.

●      One thing I have learned today.

 

And finally, none of these suggestions ignore the fact that these are difficult times, but what they might do is to shift your perspective to allow yourself to focus on each day, and to notice things in the moment that may have passed you by.

There are always opportunities to make a different and better choice even in the most difficult and trying of circumstance.

Remember, you are important and so choose to take very good care of yourself.