There is no denying that lockdown can be hard. Whether you love getting out and about or you are more of a homebody, everyone is having to learn to adjust and adapt to our new lifestyles in lockdown.
During this challenging time, it is important to actively look after yourself. There are many things that you can do to promote and support healthy life balance and wellbeing while you are staying home.
Here are our top ten tips to help get you through lockdown:
1. Stay in contact with family and friends:
The best way to fight feeling lonely is to interact with others. Although it is a bit trickier to see the people we care about at the moment, we are so lucky to live in the digital age where we can connect to others with the click of a button! Having meaningful and fun interactions with people that you enjoy spending time with can help to ease these feelings. Science has shown that doing an activity with others online that mirrors each other’s behaviour actually helps us to feel more connected, included, and self-confident. Try doing an exercise class, cooking class, cheese tasting, having a dance party, book club, music listening party, if you are a Me Plus More member jump onto the Facebook community page or games night online to keep connected. When was the last time you talked with your loved ones? What might be some fun activities you could do with them online?
2. Stay up to date with reliable information and news sources:
Information and news are everywhere, and not all of it is accurate or objective. It is important to make sure you limit how much news you watch, when you watch it, and from where you get it. Too much negative or dramatic news and information can leave us feeling helpless, hopeless, and worried. It is advised to check the news only once a day (either morning or night) as most of what is on the news is repeated throughout the day. Getting your news and information from impartial sources like SBS and ABC tends to be more reliable and without personal or political opinions. Getting information or news from websites like NSW Health or the World Health Organisation (WHO) is best.
3. Take breaks from social media:
Although it is important to keep informed and connected to others, it is nice to take a break from social media and screens in general. Sometimes what we read or see on social media can be overwhelming or upsetting. It is important to remember that not everything we see on social media is a true reflection of people or their experiences and instead is the ideal version that they prefer you see. A lot of information and news reported in social media is also not necessarily accurate or reliable. A lot of what people post or share on social media is opinion-based or not fact-checked. If you have been feeling helpless or sad, fake news can add to that and make things seem worse. Try limiting your social media to a specific day of the week or time of the day, and do not check it outside of that specific time for more balance.
4. Plan enjoyable things to do at home:
Have a think about some things you find interesting, fun, or that make you feel happy. Once you have an idea of what you might want to do, consider the materials, tools, or space you will need to do get going. You might consider doing things like dancing, cooking, painting, gardening, playing games, reading, writing poetry, spring cleaning, or cleaning out your closet. Get creative! Some things that can be fun, interesting, and different to do might be putting on a fashion show or musical performance, having a scavenger hunt, learning a new skill like a language or musical instrument, painting your nails or dying your hair, have a pamper day including a bubble bath and at home facial treatments, or prepare a meal for your household.
5. Get some fresh air:
For some people, hearing the word “lockdown” makes them think of staying at home and not leaving the house at all. But this is not quite the case! Science has shown that even a little bit of regular gentle physical movement can help improve physical and emotional wellbeing, sleep, motivation, mental health, and self-esteem. We also know that just 10-15 minutes of sunshine on your arms and legs (without using sunscreen or low SPF) a few times each week is enough for your body to produce almost all the Vitamin D you need. Vitamin D helps us to balance our moods, emotions, and sleep better, and helps calcium absorption for strong teeth and bones. Whenever you feel the need for a change of scenery, go outside and let nature do its magic. Remember to take water and a face mask with you!
6. Be kind to yourself and others:
These trying times remind us to be considerate of one another. As the saying goes “kindness is free”, and it makes you and others feel good! Doing good deeds and showing kindness to others is lovely and rewarding but being kind, considerate, and compassionate to yourself is actually even more important! If you put all your effort into helping and caring for others, you will likely not have much energy left to care for yourself. And if you do not care for yourself, who will? Try starting your day with a compliment to yourself. It might sound silly, and you may not even wholly believe it at first, but the more niceness you show towards yourself the better you will become at it and one day these compliments will be something you truly appreciate. Similarly, if you make a mistake or forget to do something, be kind to yourself. You might do this by saying to yourself, “it is ok that I made a mistake, everybody makes mistakes sometimes. I will try to do this better next time!”
7. Get a good night’s sleep:
Sleep is so important for so many different reasons, and no matter the reason we all need it to survive and thrive. There are different things to consider when it comes to setting yourself up for a good quality night’s sleep: what you do in the hours leading up to bedtime; the time you go to bed; how long you sleep and what time you need to get up; and the set-up of your sleep space. Try to avoid drinking alcohol or doing intense exercise within 4 hours of bedtime as both of these things can make you feel more alert and awake. Even one standard drink can give you a rough night’s sleep. Doing some slow, gentle relaxing stretching or yoga before bed can help you to relax and get ready for sleep. Try not to do anything other than sleep (and consensual sex) in your bed. The more time we spend doing things in bed that are not sleep (like eating, watching tv, playing on devices, study/work, etc.), means our brains change the way they think of sleep and bed and this can lead to sleepless nights. Temperature is also important when it comes to sleep. This is because our bodies naturally become cooler when we are getting sleepy. So, having a cool room with warm blankets is going to set you up nicely for a comfortable night’s sleep. You might even try having a hot bath or shower with lavender oil an hour before bed to help your body begin to feel sleepy as it cools after the bath/shower and recognise that you are winding down for the night. Avoid having caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate, energy drinks) after midday as these things can give us energy that lasts for hours. Having some relaxing soft music in the background can also help us fall asleep.
8. Get a new routine going and set small achievable daily goals:
Setting small, achievable daily goals not only means you are getting things done but can also boost your self-confidence and mood. It is important not only to set and do the goals, but to also to have a little celebration or reward for completing them as you go. Remember, progress is usually slow, which is totally ok and expected. The most meaningful and long-lasting changes happen with small gradual steps. Even if it takes a couple of tries to get the hang of things or you make mistakes along the way, that is totally ok – just keep trying your best, whatever that is in that moment! For more detailed information on how to set goals and reward yourself, Me Plus More has a whole topic dedicated to Goal Setting.
9. Remind yourself that it is ok to feel how you feel:
We have all had days where we feel angry, sad, nervous, overwhelmed, frustrated, or stressed, and there is no shame in this. Sometimes, accepting our feelings and allowing ourselves to feel a certain way is better than keeping it all inside, which usually makes us feel worse. You might consider speaking about your concerns or feelings to someone you trust like a family member, friend, or carer. You might even consider making an appointment to see your GP, a psychologist, or a counselor to have a safe neutral person to speak with and get support or guidance from. Journaling, writing poetry or song lyrics, or composing music can be a great way to express your feelings if you are not comfortable talking about it with others.
10. Stand up and get going:
Although you have taken the time to read this blog, it is now time to put these tips into practice! It can be a little uncomfortable or scary trying something new or different than what we are used to, and this is normal. However, it takes you to make the first step to see any change or improvement. You do not need to be good at something to begin doing it, but you do need to begin trying to do something to get good at it! So why not give it a try. You might make mistakes or forget to do some things and that is expected. It takes practice to get a new habit or routine down, so just keep trying until you get it and get yourself to where you want to be.
Start today because we believe in you!
However, sometimes things can get overwhelming, even if you are practicing our top tips. There are support services to help you through:
Lifeline – 13 11 14
Coronavirus mental wellbeing support services – 1800 512 348
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About Me Plus More
Me Plus More is an online platform specifically designed to inspire and empower people with intellectual disability to take those much-needed steps towards reaching their goals and independence.