At this very difficult and ever changing time it is vitally important to think about your mental health and well-being. Balancing working from home and home schooling along side the stresses of self-isolation and possible financial difficulties is core to good well-being.
Here are a few simple tips to help your mental health and well-being:
- Get a good night’s sleep. This is particularly challenging when many thoughts and feelings are stopping you from switching off. You could try using some meditation techniques or use a calming app. Think about what you eat and drink before bedtime and the activities you choose to do before bed. Find the Sleep Foundation top tips here.
- Keep active. There are many things that you can do to keep active both inside the home and in the garden. Activity supports our mood and mental health. Try getting outside at least once a day to be active in the fresh air. Alternatively there are many online exercise programs that you can try from the comfort of your living room.
- Have a healthy, balanced diet. This is particularly difficult in the current circumstances however it is important to balance good choices and not so good choices. Try to increase your water intake and choose some healthier snack options. The NHS has some useful information around healthy eating.
- Keep in contact with the important people in your life. Having positive contact with friends and family is vital for your well-being. Luckily we are in a technology rich era where we can talk and communicate easily. Take some time for talking, where you can have some much needed conversation. Try to keep this as positive as possible, during this difficult time it is easy to talk about the negative impact of the coronavirus. This will only negatively affect your mood and well-being.
- Spend time doing something for you. It is easy to become engaged in social media and in finding out the most up to date information on the news. However spending time away from social media and the news will help you to focus on the things that make you happy and support your well-being. Read a book, take a bath, listen to your favourite music, bake . . . whatever makes you relaxed and happy.
The Mental Health Organisation is a fantastic website to explore different areas of mental health. There is current advice around mental health and the coronavirus.