Wellbeing
Wellbeing is the fundamental human experience of feeling healthy, happy and having a deep sense of meaning and purpose. It encompasses our physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual state. During this unprecedented period of health crisis we are facing, our general wellness is more important now than ever.
Here are some simple things we can all do to ensure we are keeping well during this period of great anxiety.
1. Maintain a routine
Whilst schools are closed and most of us are now working from home, it is a good idea to follow a structured daily flow of activities just as you would in your normal day/week. Try waking up at a reasonable time in the morning, take a shower, have some breakfast and prepare for work at home. Encourage school children to follow their school timetable.
Ensure that you are working at a desk or table and not the couch or a bed; this helps to separate work from relaxation.
Take short breaks from the computer and have healthy snacks and plenty of water in the day.
2. Keep Active
Keeping active in the current circumstances may not be easy, try to find a way to take some exercise at home, on a mat, in the garden or anywhere you can find a bit of space to kick about! There are lots of exercise routines you can follow on YouTube.
3. Maintain a healthy diet
Involve your children in planning healthy meals and get them to be part of the cooking.
Remember, your focus is to strengthen your immune system, so lots of greens, vegetables fruits and water. Less of fatty foods you may not find easy burning off whilst stuck at home.
4. Connect with friends and family
Find time to interact with family near you or with those further away. A shared joke to laugh out loud, a telephone call to that friend who is on their own, a quick text message to check on someone, as well as making use of technology such as Skype, Facetime, etc to maintain closeness to people as much as possible. Show people that they are valued, thought of, and that they always have your support.
5. Get good sleep
We all know how we feel when we have not had a good night’s sleep. Our physical and mental wellbeing improves when we have good sleeping patterns. For more information and tips for a good night’s sleep visit sleepcouncil.org.uk
6. Engage in fun activities
Now is the time to do what we love to do but never seem to have the time for because we are so busy with our lives. Our interests vary from person to person, but perhaps we could try something new to us. Painting, reading, puzzle building/solving, singing or photography. Encourage your children to capture a lot at this time, whether it’s pictures, recording events, building a scrap book or keeping a diary. In about 50 years, they will have a story to tell.
7. Be calm
An effective way to be calm in the midst of anxiety is to change your focus. Control the amount of information you are receiving by watching the TV, listening to the radio or via social media. It is natural to try to fill our holes of anxiety and fear we have created by searching for more information, following the news and responding to what we see or hear from other media. While it is true that we may find the information we are so desperately looking for, the impact this has on our wellbeing is significant.
We compromise our immune systems by worrying and getting overly anxious about situations we have little control over. Reflection, meditation on God’s word, and prayer could be our focus in times of fear and despair.
Keep Well, Keep Safe and remember, “he has given his angels orders about you, to guard you wherever you go” (Psalm 91 vs 11).
Church in lockdown