{"id":5553,"date":"2020-03-31T14:34:42","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T13:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/?p=5553"},"modified":"2020-04-06T10:25:12","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T09:25:12","slug":"five-ways-to-wellbeing-in-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/five-ways-to-wellbeing-in-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Five ways to wellbeing in lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Principal Lecturer Anne Cooke gives five tips to help look after our mental health and wellbeing during lockdown.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Coronavirus is a threat to our physical health, and the crisis is a threat to our mental health.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re anxious, we\u2019re frustrated, many of us are angry, bored, lonely. Some of us are about to burst juggling childcare with a madly busy job that just got busier and that we now have to do from the kitchen table, hoping our colleagues can\u2019t see the mess in Zoom meetings.  These are difficult, unsettling, unprecedented times and we\u2019re all feeling strong emotions. To make things worse, the lockdown is cutting off many of our usual ways of coping.  One of mine is swimming, but with pools closed I\u2019m wishing I was one of those hardy \u2018wild swimming\u2019 types who won\u2019t let a bit of ice put them off.  Sadly I\u2019m not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everywhere you look at the moment there\u2019s advice about preserving our physical health.  But what about our mental health?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a lot we can\u2019t control\u00a0right now. But\u00a0some things we still\u00a0can, even if we\u00a0have to\u00a0get a bit creative.\u00a0\u00a0The government has just published some\u00a0wellbeing guidance<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally I\u2019m trying to plan my days to include each of the New Economics Foundation\u2019s \u2018five ways to wellbeing<\/a>\u2019 – the psychological equivalent of eating our \u2018five a day\u2019.  They are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.Be active<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise is good for your mental as well as your physical health. If like me your usual form isn\u2019t possible, you may need to get creative. I\u2019ve replaced swimming with cycling and yoga (online classes seem to work ok, much to my surprise).  Exercise also helps us sleep better and hopefully experience fewer of those 3am scenarios lying awake and imagining the worst.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Connect <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re social animals, and relationships are fundamental to our wellbeing.  Social support can even boost your immune system. Isolation is currently a huge issue for many of us.  On the other hand, being cooped up with families can lead to arguments: my teenagers resorted to throwing water over each other yesterday. Social media is a mixed blessing, and not just because of the scare stories. It does connect us but in a superficial way, and risks giving the impression that everyone else is coping better. We\u2019ve also got so used to messaging rather than actually talking. Make a cup of tea or pour a glass of wine, pick up the phone or use Zoom or Facetime and have a proper chat with someone.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, in some ways the current crisis is connecting us more<\/em>. There\u2019s been so much division recently (Brexit, the rich vs the poor in our current dog-eat-dog economy) but the pandemic is something that unites us all, a common enemy. Inequality is a huge driver of mental ill-health.  The crisis has clearly shown the limitations of a competition-driven society, and the ways that people have found of connecting and looking after each other are so heartening, from social media groups like The Kindness Pandemic<\/a> to singing together from balconies<\/a>.  In my village someone from each road has volunteered to be a \u2018street champion\u2019, making sure everyone in the road is OK and shopping for people who can\u2019t get out.  People are using the local shops and the sense of community, often tenuous in 2020 Britain, is palpable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Keep learning<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re learning organisms and learning promotes mental health.  There are certainly plenty of opportunities for that at the moment.  We\u2019re all on a steep learning curve, whether it\u2019s getting our heads round new videoconferencing software or creating palatable dinners<\/a> from what we have in the cupboard. There are plenty of free online learning opportunities at the moment too. For example if you\u2019re interested in mental health I recommend Psychology and Mental Health: Beyond Nature and Nurture<\/a> from my colleagues Peter Kinderman and Kate Allsopp at the University of Liverpool.  The course has just started but you can still join. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Give <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human beings have evolved as part of communities. As Action for Happiness<\/a> puts it: \u2018…caring about others is fundamental to our happiness…\u2019. Doing things for other people can be a powerful way to improve our own mental well-being.  This is one area where there is no lack of opportunities right now.  Ironically, the crisis is opening up new possibilities for change. Let\u2019s work together to ensure that the lessons of the crisis stick, whether that\u2019s the need for a fairer society, for a better funded NHS or for a healthier planet.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Take notice<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fifth \u2018way to wellbeing\u2019 \u2013 taking notice, being mindful – may not be as obvious as the others. Mindfulness is defined as \u2018the state of being attentive to, and aware of, what is taking place in the present\u2019. To be mindful is to be consciously and intentionally aware of what is happening around us, as well as what is going on in our minds (our thoughts and feelings). The ability to be mindful can be learned, and has been shown to benefit both mental well-being and physical health. Mindfulness can help with stress and also with our relationships by increasing empathy and compassion. We\u2019re all experiencing strong emotions at the moment; this is a new and difficult situation. Let yourself feel your emotions, accept them in a spirit of what the mindfulness literature calls \u2018kindly compassion\u2019<\/a>. Don\u2019t judge them. Ask what they\u2019re telling you, use them as a spur to action.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Economics Foundation suggests: \u2018Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you<\/em>.\u2019 Personally I\u2019ve found it really helpful to get out into nature for my daily exercise, and to make time to stop and be mindful of the sun on my skin; the bees; spring springing all around.  To \u2018smell the roses\u2019 and remember that this too will pass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anne Cooke is Principal Lecturer in the Salomons Institute for Applied Psychology. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Principal Lecturer Anne Cooke gives five tips to help look after our mental health and wellbeing during lockdown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151654,"featured_media":5578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,261],"tags":[3402,3358,1633,3405,3397,9,362,2734,3398,749],"class_list":["post-5553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-psychology","tag-connect","tag-coronavirus","tag-exercise","tag-learning","tag-lockdown","tag-mental-health","tag-mental-wellbeing","tag-physical-activity","tag-social","tag-wellbeing"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"authorName":"Emma Grafton-Williams","featuredImage":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/437\/2020\/03\/Wellbeing-shutterstock-pic.png","postExcerpt":"Principal Lecturer Anne Cooke gives five tips to help look after our mental health and wellbeing during lockdown.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151654"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5553"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5634,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5553\/revisions\/5634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}