Looking after our mental health in Lockdown
What week of lockdown are we in at the moment?! I have lost track now!
Even though I am unsure of where we are currently, I am fairly pleased with how, as a family we have managed. We have had some downs but primarily on the whole, I think we have managed to stay positive. As you are aware, I am not an expert in the field of mental health and would never pretend I am, but I do know what has worked for us. As we potentially have a few more weeks to go I thought I would share incase you are starting to flag and need a bit of help.
The first thing that has helped us is a routine. I have to say, in the run up to lockdown, I saw an awful lot of timetables floating around and thought it would be a crazy thing to do but actually it has really worked for us. Ours is based loosely around the school day and means that we all know what is expected of us when, and more importantly we know when our breaks are!
Exercise has also played a vital role in keeping our mental health in check. I have really ramped up the running and find that it is doing wonders for my mind. If nothing else, I find running so hard that I am not thinking about anything else in that time! I know not everyone can get out alone but even going for a socially distanced walk with the people you live with is worth doing. There are also LOADS of free exercise type classes available online. My favorites being PE with Jo and the FIIT app.
Fresh air – fresh air is a game changer! Try and get out in it for a while each day if you can.
I also don’t really watch the news! I stick to catching up with the headlines once a day – usually after the coronavirus update at 5pm and that is it.
I am all about feeling the feelings. If I am sad, I am sad. If the kids are grumpy then they are grumpy. In my opinion, pretending we are fine when we are not is not going to help. It’s better to feel it, talk about it, sleep on it and see where we are. Talking to someone is really important so please do always talk. A problem shared and all that! I will link some useful contacts below.
I have also found that trying to get some time to myself really helps – I have to get up early to find that time though! I get up before anyone else and have my coffee and breakfast on my own and read my book/plan my day. It’s only about 20 minutes but it makes me feel so much better.
I have also been losing myself in a good book – nothing like escaping the world in a good book.
Eat well! Eating well and choosing nutritious, nourishing meals will help you feel better. I realise at the beginning of lockdown it was hard to get all that much at the supermarket, but they are fairly well stocked now, so you should be able to get what you need. Aim to eat at least 5 portions of vegetables or fruit a day, ensure you eat some carbohydrates – we need these for energy. Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, that kind of thing, are all good carbohydrate sources. Include some good protein sources in your diet – lean meat, fish, beans, legumes and eggs are all great. Avocado, olive oil, oily fish are also good things to include – you need this type of fat in your body to help absorb your fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, E and K and you also need these types of fat to manufacture some hormones. All of these things still go on during lockdown!
It doesn’t have to be complicated at all. Just try and build your meals around including some vegetables, some protein and some carbohydrate and you will be fine. I will link the EatWell Guide below as a guide.
The final thing and probably the most important thing is to be kind to each other and to ourselves. It is actually really tough at times; we have never had to live like this before and there are no rules or guidelines. We just have to muddle our way through! So if you want to have cereal for dinner tonight then do, but in my opinion I think you would feel better if you didn’t. Taking care of yourself really does make a difference to your overall wellbeing.
If you have any questions at all about nutrition at this time then please drop me an email, I am more than happy to answer you questions and drop me a comment below to let me know how you have been getting through lockdown.
Lots of love,
Kirsty xx
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide/ https://www.samaritans.org/ https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips/ https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/