Supporting Your Wellbeing
Dr Emma Hepburn
Dr Hepburn is a Clinical Psychologist with a passion for sharing mental health and wellbeing supports in a fun and accessible way. She has created a free resource How to Stay Calm in a Global Pandemic full of lots of lovely ideas including 'Looking after you mental health in Winter Lockdown'. Follow her on Instagram for more.
BBC Bitesize Parent/Carer toolkit
BBC Bitesize have a Parent/Carer toolkit with lots of advice from looking after your wellbeing and juggling responsibilities, healthy eating and self-care.
Stress
We have all likely developed coping strategies over the years to draw upon during times of stress, but the Covid-19 pandemic is outwith anything we have ever experienced before. This may mean that some of our usual coping strategies are not as effective. Additionally, the ongoing restrictions might mean that some of our usual supports may not be as freely available to us. Add in the constant state of uncertainty we find ourselves in, and the constant stream of information, and it's hardly a surprise if we feel overwhelmed.
The part of our brain that controls our anxiety is the amygdala and it is constantly scanning for features of safety in our environment. It is in constant communication with the pre-frontal cortex which is the thinking part of our brain. So there is an ongoing balancing act going on between these parts of our brain where the amygdala sees signs of danger and the pre-frontal cortex assesses whether this is a real or imagined danger (fight/flight/freeze response). External stressors can impact the brain's ability to distinguish real from imagined dangers and we all have times where we ‘flip our lid’ at a situation we never normally would, maybe because we are tired, have had a fall out with a loved one, have a button pushed by someone or are coping with a stressful situation such as a global pandemic! So the pre-frontal cortex is currently processing an overwhelming amount of information and calming the amygdala which is more alert than ever. This may lead to cognitive fatigue which can show itself in the following ways: losing our temper, being tearful or anxious, difficulty concentrating or making decisions.
So how can we combat stress and mental fatigue?
Stay Connected
As social beings, connectedness and a sense of belonging are key to positive wellbeing. Social distancing and lockdown have made face to face contact more difficult but have also brought about different challenges due to the increase in online communications. It’s therefore important to be purposeful in our interactions to avoid become over-whelmed and fatigued. This might mean tidying away work materials at the end of our workday and as much as possible keeping our bedrooms as a work-free zone. It might also mean making a concerted effort to stay in touch with friends and family that we live separately from. In contrast, change can lead to extra strain on relationships in the home and so remember to be compassionate towards yourself and accepting of others as you may not progress into the recovery phase in the same ways.
Self-care tips
Thanks to the Change 4 Life public health initiative, we are all aware of the idea of eating five pieces of fruit and vegetables each day to improve our physical health. However, we may be less aware that the same applies to our brain. Trying to incorporate five small activities every day into our routines, can support our emotional wellbeing and go a long way to maintaining mental wealth and increasing resilience. Here are some ideas you can try:
Kindness and Gratitude
During times of uncertainty such as the Covid-19 lockdown, we may not have access to our usual coping strategies and may be experiencing additional stressors and frustration. It is therefore important to have extra self-compassion and to be kinder and accepting of ourselves. Doing things for others, whether something nice for a friend or a random act of kindness, can also make us feel better during challenging times.
Starting or developing a gratitude practice is another way of overcoming low mood and anxiety. Reflecting and naming 3 things which have happened in our lives each day for which we are thankful or appreciated, is a useful health promoting activity as it focuses our attention on the present and the positives, however small. The Educational Psychology Service has developed a taster training on Positive Psychology.
The Circle of Control
Research shows that when we shift our focus to what we can control, we see meaningful and lasting differences in our wellbeing, health and performance. So one thing you can do is create your own 'circle of control' and try to work on noticing when your thoughts are drifting to things outside your control and then redirect your attention to things that are within your control.
You can't stop your mind from drifting to worries outwith your control, but you can control your response to them.
Mindfulness
In the fast paced world we live in, it is easy to stop noticing the environment around us. We can get from A to B without acknowledging or, indeed, remembering the journey - almost like being on autopilot. Sadly, the same can be said for the way we listen to our bodies. We can lose touch with the way our body feels and get caught up with the thoughts running around in our heads.
A crucial part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. Waking up to the moment and mindfully utilising our senses can be a powerful experience. By allowing ourselves to see the present moment clearly, we can positively change the way we see ourselves. We can enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better.
Mindfulness helps us to appreciate how our thoughts influence our emotions and behaviours. It allows us to see patterns and gradually train ourselves to notice when our thoughts are taking over. Thoughts, put simply, are mental events that do not control us and Mindfulness helps us to understand this.
The Educational Psychology Service has developed training to give you more information on this topic. The training has been developed for adults and aims to give you an understanding of the basics of Mindfulness. Alternative Mindfulness resources for children and young people can be found here.
