Lockdown is endless or it certainly feels that way…!
Last week I ran another short on-line session discussing how we look after ourselves in this continued lockdown. I sometimes think people join in with these sessions hoping I am going to wave a magic wand and make everything easy and alright. I wish I could. Quite a few of the on-line workshops I have run in the last year have been for women and they have lasted about an hour – usually because participants can manage to free themselves for an hour but not always more. They have sometimes been a space to talk and share and sometimes been a more formal presentation of strategies we can choose to adopt to increase our resilience.
Each time I run one of these workshops it is a clear reminder that each person is different and so the strategies that will work for them individually will also be different. My list of ideas is growing from listening to people around me. There are books and apps for meditation, self-help, diet and exercise. There are positive minded Instagram accounts to follow. There are TV shows to distract us – I see the BBC is planning a comedy festival to raise everyone’s spirits. There are book recommendations and tips for new recipes. There is a ton of stuff out there.
What works best for me?
The things that work best for me are those that have just become part of everyday routine where I don’t have to make any special effort – they are:
- Eating at regular times and eating good, healthy food (bothering to cook properly and buying some good wine)
- Calling relatives and friends regularly – some isolated ones daily
- Being outside and moving outside – walking for 1 hour in the fresh air whatever the weather.
- Going to bed at a reasonable time and getting a good night’s sleep
- Taking time to reflect
- Reading a novel for an hour every day
- Limiting news consumption – looking at the paper or TV news a maximum of once a day
- Watching programmes or films which lift the spirits – no violence, seeking out beauty and fun
- Listening to music
- Playing games as a distraction
- Creating something – draw, paint, sew, write an article or a novel
- Growing and tending to some plants
- Feeding the birds – and noting which ones visit
- Accepting that some days will feel much harder than others
- Reminiscing about great trips I have been on with family and friends to enrich conversations
- Not being too perfectionist about trying to do a load of stuff to stay OK – keeping it doable and simple and cutting myself some slack!
What are the things you do to keep yourself on track?
#resilience #lockdownstrategies #coaching #selfcare
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