There’s no denying that the world we’re living in right now, isn’t exactly what we were picturing when we all shouted ‘Happy New Year’ and said 2020 was going to be THE year for us. Living in a time of so much uncertainty, not being able to see our loved ones and closest friends and having our daily life and possibly employment impacted isn’t a fun time for anyone, but we’re all in this together.
The TCE team understands that you may be feeling more anxious than usual and this temporary way of life for the foreseeable future may be impacting on your well-being. It’s hard, we get it, but we’re all in it together. We rounded up some tips to help you keep your mental health and wellbeing at bay:
- Remind yourself that this is only temporary and a necessary precaution to protect yourself, your loved ones and members of the community.
- Stay connected with friends and family through technology. Just because you can’t physically be in the same room as them, doesn’t mean you still can’t have friday arvo drinks together with the added fun of silly filters.
- Try to maintain a regular sleep and work (if you can work from home) routine and make sure you continue to eat a balanced diet.
- Maintain your physical activity. Just because your gym closed does not give you an excuse to slack off from your workouts.
- Avoid the media if you find it’s stressing you out too much.
- Start that hobby or learn that skill you always wanted to try. Now is the perfect time!
Accessing quality information
This one is probably one of the biggest tips we have – only go to reputatble sources of information if you need to know something. Reading posts on facebook or local news websites and blogs might only cloud your mind and fill your head with uncessary info. Head to places like the World Health Organisation, the Australian Government or your state-based government health agencies dedicated website.
Balance your social media coverage
Following the above, being exposed to large volumes of negative info can heighten feelings of anxiety. It’s definitely important to stay informed, but if you can feel it impacting your mental health and wellbeing, it’s probably going to be useful to limit your media intake.
Be practical and maintain perspective
It might seem harsh right now, but this will benefit everyone in the long run. We’re all in this together. Widespread panic is contagious, but so is hope and calm and kindness. Listen to the advice of health authorities, maintain good hygiene and remember that there’s people out there working around the clock to contain, treat and find a vaccine for the virus as quickly as possible. We all play a role in this and by each of us making those small changes required now, we are one step closer to being on the other side of this.
So to summarise:
- Maintain perspective (this too shall pass)
- Be practical and don’t put yourself or community at harm
- Stay connected with your loved ones
- Access quality information from credible sources
And most importantly, if it does all get too much, seek support and help from organisations like Beyond Blue or Headspace.