How are you?
Your feelings are valid
For many of us, it is the first time experiencing a pandemic. It’s a very unusual situation to be in, so there is no ‘normal’ way to react. Whether you’re scared, sad, anxious, or angry, every feeling is valid. Maybe you’re actually feeling great – that’s okay too. You don’t have to feel guilty for feeling good when everyone else around you seems to be having a mini-meltdown. We are all different; we have different personalities, lifestyles, and social situations.
Some people are introverts who might be feeling comfortable with self-isolation, whilst others are extroverts and might find themselves feeling lonely without their usual social interactions and activities. Whilst we may be physically distanced, we can still be socially connected. This is an important part of many people’s mental health.
Mental health ‘training’
I fully embrace the biopsychosocial model of health. Having good mental health requires the same care and attention as physical health. Just like being fit takes regular exercise and nutrition for fuel, a good mental state isn’t something that we can achieve by doing nothing. Below are a few things you can do to help maintain a good mental health:
Food and water
I’m finding myself cooking a lot more lately. I am particularly paying a lot of attention to how much iron I’m eating. I ate a purely plant-based diet for about a year, but it didn’t work for me. Despite my best efforts, I became iron deficient, which can make you really tired. It’s already hard enough as it is being stuck at home without being affected by nutritional deficiencies, so I’m trying my best to eat well. As well as being more in control over what you’re consuming, cooking can also be a great mindfulness activity.
I recently got a juicer too. I had been meaning to get one for a while, as I love freshly squeezed juices. Whenever I exercised, I enjoyed getting a green juice afterwards. Now that I’m no longer going to juice bars, I’ve been making juices at home and it’s been quite fun trying out different combinations of fruit and vegetables. If your fruit and veg intake isn’t great, making a juice or smoothie at home can be a good way of consuming more.
Water intake is easy to forget when you’re at home. Even though I’m not going out, I still fill a water bottle first thing in the morning. I make sure that I’m drinking at least 1-2 bottles of water throughout the day.
Sleep
Sleep hygiene is really easy to neglect when you’re at home! Even though it’s tempting to binge-watch a show, browse the internet, read, or work on your laptop in bed, it’s really important that we don’t. Psychologically, the brain needs to think of the bed as the place we sleep. So doing activities in bed can affect the quality of sleep. If you have a desk at home, do your work at a designated desk. It’s helpful to have a physically different space for work and leisure, which is so easy to blur right now when so many of us are working from home.
As much as I enjoy the flexibility of working from home, I am resisting the temptation to sleep in. I admit there have been a couple of nights when I was binge-watching a show and went to bed far later than usual, but for the most part, I try to stick to the same bedtime and wake time. Having good sleep is essential not just to mental health, but so many other physiological functions.
Physical activity
I’ve seen countless memes about weight gain during quarantine. I suppose we’re all trying to make each other feel better with humour. Now is not the time to be too strict with yourself about your appearance. Unless you’ve always exercised at home or you’re an outdoors exerciser, many of us are missing our usual places for exercise, whether that’s the gym, Crossfit box, yoga studio, or swimming pool. We should, however, keep moving for mental health. I’ve always enjoyed exercise for the endorphins, which I’m reliant on now more than ever. There are some days I really don’t feel like doing exercise at all, but I try and make myself at least go outside for a short walk (respecting social distancing rules, of course).
I’ve tried a few other things. I did an online HIIT workout at home, and I’ve done a lot of yoga, but I’ve temporarily stopped yoga in favour of going on walks and light jogs. A girl (let’s call her S) had asked to do a home yoga challenge with me on Instagram, but I ended up stopping after realising how toxic it was. I always try to be my authentic self on social media, and I had posted a video of me struggling to do a pose I used to do. The next day, S learnt how to do the pose and posted a video of herself doing it effortlessly, and tagged me in it. I’m sure it wasn’t malicious, but it made me feel horrible. It felt competitive and a little bitchy. Yoga is about connecting with yourself, and doing your own practice without external distraction… but I was distracted and bothered by a stranger on Instagram… which brings me to my next section:
Social media
I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I’ve met some wonderful people through Instagram, but it can be a dangerous place for mental health. A lot of what we see is not real. I enjoy interacting with people, checking out what my friends are up to, exchange funny memes, and get ideas for fun activities. However, I don’t always like everything I see. Now is as good a time as any to do some culling. If I see something on my feed that bothers me, I either mute that person or unfollow. It’s your account, you do what you need to do to keep it healthy.
Don’t feel pressured to do what everyone else is doing on Instagram. Some of us are in survival mode, and we just want to get through to the other side of quarantine unscathed. Others are hustling hard. Yes, some of us do have extra time, but it doesn’t mean you have to fill it with online courses or learning a new skill. If you do want to explore a new activity, then that’s fantastic! But, if you don’t feel like it, that’s alright too. Listen to your body, and do what feels right for you.
Mindfulness
I am a big fan of mindfulness. I’m not always good at practising it, but I do find it useful. It makes me feel more in tune with my body. If I have a negative emotion, I let myself experience it. Instead of ignoring it, or telling myself to get over it, I acknowledge it. I let myself feel whatever it is that I’m feeling, and accept it. As I said at the start of this post, every feeling is valid. It’s my way of practising self-acceptance. Mindful activities also make me feel more alive and appreciative of my surroundings. It’s about feeling alert, present, and attentive to your five senses. For example, noticing how good your baking smells, or the feeling of the sun on your face when you’re outside for a walk, or the sound of running water when you’re filling the bath tub.
There are lots of mindful activities. One of my favourites is adult colouring books. I’ve even given swear word colouring books as gifts, which are good fun. We all know swearing can be therapeutic – sometimes you just have to say, fuck this shit.
Mindless activities
As much as I enjoy the benefits of mindfulness, I also enjoy mindless activities like watching TV. Sometimes I just need to switch my brain off. What have you been binge-watching? I’ve received a lot of recommendations from social media, as well as through podcasts. I couldn’t avoid watching Tiger King after seeing so many memes about Carole Baskin. I’m thinking of watching Unorthodox on Netflix next.
Medications and therapy
If you’re currently being treated for a mental illness, there is no shame in that. Don’t forget to take your medications and keep going to therapy – having regular ‘check-ins’ can be so helpful. If you haven’t been diagnosed with a mental illness, but you are worried, please see your GP. You can speak to a GP via Telehealth so that you don’t physically have to attend a clinic. A lot of people are finding the current situation very difficult, so you are definitely not alone. If you’re feeling depressed or anxious, there is always help.
Take care,
Miko xx
