- Stick to a routine: Go to sleep and wake up at a reasonable time. Write a schedule that is varied and includes time for work as well as self-care.
- Dress for the social life you want, not the social life you have: Get showered and dressed in comfortable clothes, wash your face, brush your teeth. Take the time to do a bath or a facial. Put on some bright colours. It is amazing how our dress can impact our mood and mental health.
- Get out at least once a day, for at least thirty minutes: Try first thing in the morning, or later in the evening, and try less travelled streets and avenues.
- Find some time to move each day, again daily for at least thirty minutes: There are many YouTube videos that offer free movement classes. And if all else fails, turn on the music and have a dance party!
- Reach out to others, you guessed it, at least once daily for thirty minutes: Try to do FaceTime, Skype, phone calls, texting — connect with other people to seek and provide support. Don’t forget to do this for your children as well.
- Stay hydrated and eat well: Stress and eating often don’t mix well, and we find ourselves over-indulging, forgetting to eat, and avoiding food. All of which affects our mental health. Drink plenty of water, eat some good and nutritious foods, and challenge yourself to learn how to cook something new!
- Develop a self-care toolkit: This can look different for everyone. A lot of successful self-care strategies involve a sensory component. A soft blanket, a hot chocolate, photos of vacations, music, lavender or eucalyptus oil, a rocking chair. A journal, a good book, a colouring book is wonderful, bubbles to blow. Mint gum, ginger ale, popsicles or ice packs are also good for anxiety regulation.
- Give everyone the benefit of the doubt: A lot of cooped up time can bring out the worst in everyone. Each person will have moments when they will not be at their best. It is important to move with grace through blow-ups, to not show up to every argument you are invited to and to not hold grudges and continue disagreements.
- Let everyone find their own retreat space: Space is at a premium, particularly with city living. It is important that people think through their own separate space for work and for relaxation. It is good to know that even when we are on top of each other, we have our own special place to go to be alone.
- Lower expectations and practice radical self-acceptance: Accept everything about yourself, your current situation, your mental health right now, and your life without question, blame, or pushback. You cannot fail at this — there is no roadmap, no precedent for this, and we are all truly doing the best we can in an impossible situation.
- Limit social media and COVID conversation: One can find tons of information on COVID-19 to consume, and it changes minute to minute. The information is often sensationalized, negatively skewed, and alarmist. Find a few trusted sources that you can check in with consistently, limit it to a few times a day.
- Notice the good in the world, the helpers: There are a ton of stories of people sacrificing, donating, and supporting one another in miraculous ways. It is important to counter-balance the heavy information with the hopeful information.
- Help others: Find ways, big and small, to give back to others. Support restaurant take-outs, offer to grocery shop, check in with elderly neighbours. Helping others gives us a sense of agency when things seem out of control.
- Find something you can control, and control the heck out of it: In moments of big uncertainty and overwhelm, controlling your little corner of the world helps you control your mental health. Organize your bookshelf, purge your closet, spring clean every room. It helps to anchor and ground us when the bigger things are chaotic.
- Find a long-term project to dive into: Now is the time to learn how to play the keyboard, put together a huge jigsaw puzzle, paint a picture, read the Harry Potter series, binge watch an 8-season show, crochet a blanket. Find something that will keep you busy, distracted, and engaged to take breaks from what is going on in the outside world.
- Engage in repetitive movements and left-right movements: Research has shown that repetitive movement can be effective at self-soothing and maintaining self-regulation in moments of distress. e.g. walking, knitting, painting.
- Find lightness and humour in each day: There is a lot to be worried about, and with good reason. Counterbalance this heaviness with something funny each day: cat videos on YouTube, a stand-up show on Netflix, a funny movie — we all need a little comedic relief in our day, every day.
- Reach out for help: If you are having difficulty coping, seek out help, even for the first time. There are mental health people on the ready to help you through this crisis.
- Remind yourself daily that this is temporary: It seems in the midst of this isolation that it will never end. Please take time to remind yourself that although this is very scary and difficult, we will return to feeling free, safe, busy, and connected in the days ahead.
- Find the lesson: This whole crisis can seem sad, senseless, and at times, avoidable. When psychologists work with trauma, a key feature to helping someone work through trauma is to help them find their agency, the potential positive outcomes they can effect, the meaning and construction that can come out of destruction. What can each of us learn, in big and small ways, from this crisis? What needs to change in ourselves, our homes, our communities, our nation and our world?
*We are not asked by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary care and love…
Did You Know?
Mental Health issues are on the rise.
We hear it everyday in the media, 44 percent of workers say that they had or have mental health issues during their career.
There will be 500,000 Canadians that will miss work this week due to a mental health issue, but it will be called a flu or their child is sick. This costs you the employer time and money.
Did you know that 82 percent of Executives say their company promotes a healthy workplace and only 32 percent of their employees agree with that?
These stats are taken from the average worker in Canada. Now put on the stress of our industry, we are sure those numbers would escalate.
Compassion fatigue doesn’t always develop from trauma. Hours much longer than a regular business day, no breaks, and grueling expectations are common factors. Read more
You can identify the signs of caregivers suffering from burnout and you can learn how to begin self-care. Read more
More facts about addictions can be found below:
Alcoholics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Cocaine Anonymous
Why is a national program so important?
More can get accomplished when you’re one of many.
What is a peer support group?
Peer support groups are comprised of individuals who share a common condition or circumstances. These groups are focused on providing mentoring, emotional and social support.
What is the purpose of a support group?
Provides you with an opportunity to be with people who are likely to have a common purpose and likely understand each other.
Why is peer support important ?
Increasing levels of self esteem. Confidence and positive feelings. The feeling that you are not alone. Others have dealt with what your dealing with.
What are the benefits of peer support?
Feeling less lonely and isolated or judged. Gaining a sense of empowerment and improving your coping skills.Search for: