In the current climate where we are living in a National Emergency, I wanted to write about something that we can all be affected by – isolation.
When we think about isolation we may think about the elderly as the main group of people who would experience feeling isolated and lonely. However just how many of us are struggling to adapt to national “lockdown” where our freedom of movement has been severely impaired.
What we might not be aware of is the impact on our mental health and wellbeing, staying home and being restricted in our movements can have on us day to day. I have already seen posts on social media where people “can’t stop going to their fridges”, is this just boredom or a need for comfort? A response to individuals’ feeling isolated from family, friends, colleagues and their daily routine and structure. Not being able to physically touch our loved ones who don’t live with us can really impact on our day to day moods and thought process. We may be feeling sad, lost and a general lack of motivation to get on with our day, worried about finances, and this can easily send us into negative thinking patterns which can become destructive.
What can we do to support our own mental health and wellbeing and cushion ourselves against isolation?
Research shows when we maintain social networks and relationships our wellbeing is nurtured and nourished. Reaching out to your support network is crucial, and being creative in how we stay in touch with family and friends can help, maintaining strong connections can help us to feel more positive in these uncertain times.
While we can’t go out and visit people face to face, we can do so virtually – the use of video chatting and skyping is a great alternative. Younger members of the family can show the older generation how this works, it can also provide some fun at the same time! Perhaps arrange an online coffee and cake chat, quiz, board game, meditation, joint exercise time. Social media can also help us to stay connected and help us realise that lots of people may be experiencing similar thoughts and feelings to ourselves and can offer support at the same time. The human condition is such that we feel comforted when we know other people have similar struggles, that we are not alone.
In my previous Safeguarding role working with children and their families where parents maybe experiencing depression and anxiety difficulties, supporting them in building a social network and making contact with people outside their home proved that building connections and maintaining them really helped increase their self confidence and self esteem, giving a sense of purpose. There are lots of online sharing platforms like mumsnet and new ones popping up on how to help entertain and homeschool children. You can even arrange an online play date where you can craft or play a game with other families.
As someone who took early retirement from a role I had done for 28 years very recently and went straight into “lockdown”, I became only too aware of the importance of establishing a routine to maintain a sense of purpose and structure, as my plans of how I would spend the first few weeks had been taken away,
Developing that structure within the restrictions placed on us all as made me think “outside the box” to maintain a positive outlook. Perhaps we have always wanted to learn something new – could this be the time?
Is it easy? I would say more challenging BUT what it has done is got me thinking about doing different things outside my “norm”. I want to encourage you all to reach out to people, get connected, stay connected and get talking.
Wellness Consultancy offers support for all everyone using talking therapies and strategies to manage their emotions and feelings! We are offering online, face to face and phone sessions. For people on low incomes, we continue to offer discounted rates.
Take a look at these helpful guides.
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/
Family activities and lockdown ideas UK group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/670287490403923/
Helpful video to help explain the virus to children:
Andrea Whittaker-Ward
Counsellor, Clinical Supervisor and Wellbeing Trainer