Rewind to a few months ago and I’m sure none of us would have predicted the current COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the state of the world. As a collective we are experiencing unprecedented changes which quite frankly many of us were not prepared for. For many of us these changes make it harder to work, care for our families and complete our normal self care routines like going to the gym or even just being able to come home from our place of work and detach from it. Our lounge rooms have turned in to home offices and home schools and with no set end date it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. This makes it more important than ever to focus on prioritising our wellbeing to ensure that we stay mentally healthy during this period of increased strain.
If you think of wellbeing as ‘money in the bank’, when you engage in a positive self-care activity its like making a deposit. On the other hand, stress and daily demands can easily make withdrawals and if you’re not making enough deposits you can easily end up ‘in the red’. Paying attention to your wellbeing and consciously choosing to engage in small activities each day that add to it can create a buffer so that you can handle stressors without becoming overwhelmed.
Some easy ways that you can boost wellbeing daily
1. Increase your positive emotions
Perhaps this is offering your help and doing something kind for someone or maybe its looking at your current situation and finding one positive that can come from this difficult time. Today, I am grateful for having food in my house and time with the people I love the most.
2. Engage in something you are good at
Eachday, invest in doing one thing you either enjoy or are good at. Whether it be cooking a meal, reading a book or getting a puzzle out. Take this time to stop, relax and top up your wellbeing.
3. Connect with others
This can be an isolating time, especially if you’re staying home to quarantine or social-distance, however whilst physical distance is recommended this doesn’t mean you need to be socially distanced. Reach out to a family member for a chat or pour that glass of wine at home and share it with friends over facetime or virtually.
4. Dedicate time for mindfulness
The easiest way to do this is with a guided mindfulness meditation. When we are mindful we are more connected to the present moment and better able to deal with the emotions that may arise. Mindfulness also helps us reconnect with our values and ensure we stay grounded. When we breath and count it also turn off the stress response and engages the rest and digest response, this is crucial for our wellbeing.
5. Reset and set some new goals
This is the perfect time to re-evaluate how you’ve been living your life. Spend some time thinking about what you look like at your best and set some specific and realistic goals that you can start working towards right now to get yourself closer to that ideal.
When times are stressful it can become easy to focus on all of our concerns and worries and become overwhelmed. In these times it is more important than ever to focus on what is within our control and what positive actions we can take to influence our situation. Tiny tweaks makes for big changes, so make a commitment to yourself to implement as many tips from above as possible to ensure that you’re looking after your own wellbeing.
