The fact that the end of perma-lockdown is now in sight will probably be a relief to many people. Ironically, however, it may also be a source of stress. If you’ve got used to life in lockdown, the “new normal” may be unsettling. With that in mind, here are some tips to cope.
Prevention is better than cure
You’re unlikely to be able to control every aspect of your life. You might not even want to. There is, however, a lot you can control, or at least influence. For example, you probably have a lot of control over your home surroundings. You also have control over what you eat and drink, your personal habits (e.g. smoking or vaping), sleeping and exercising.
You’ll also have some level of control over your work environment. If you feel you need more, you could try speaking to your HR team. You’re likely to have more limited control over public spaces. You can, however, think ahead about what they could have in store for you.
Try to identify the causes of stress
If you can identify specific triggers for your stress, you’ll be in a better position to avoid them. If that’s not possible, you’ll at least be able to recognize them for what they are. This is the first step to dealing with them.
Some people find it helpful to keep an old-fashioned journal. If you’re not one of them, then just take notes on your phone. You could either type in quick messages to yourself or use your voice recorder.
Give yourself options
Prevention is better than cure but it’s not always practical. That’s why you need to be prepared with options for dealing with your stress no matter where you are. Here are some ideas.
Do breathing exercises
Even basic deep breathing can do a lot to reduce stress. There are, however, more advanced breathing exercises you can do to regain your mental balance. You can learn about these for free on YouTube.
Breathing is a great first line of defence against stress. It’s effective, it’s free and it can be done, discreetly, in any place or situation.
Meditate
Advanced meditation is best done in appropriate surroundings. Basic meditation, by contrast, can be done just about anywhere.
It’s probably helpful to be prepared with a suitable meditation track on your phone. There are plenty of free options and the paid-for ones are generally very affordable. If, however, you can get WiFi (or have plenty of data) you just access what you want, when you want it.
Since the whole point of meditation is to help you “zone out”, there are limits as to where you can do it. That said, it’s still very flexible. Basically, it’ll look like you’re just listening to music/spoken-word.
Look at calming images
This is essentially the same sort of idea as meditation. You’re aiming to transport yourself, mentally, into a better place. The difference is that guided meditation works by using your ears. Looking at calming images works by using your eyes. You can therefore access it in places where you can’t bury yourself into headphones.
Again, it probably helps to be prepared (unless you’re very confident of your WiFi or your data). You can download lots of beautiful pictures from the internet. You can also take pictures of the parts of your life which make you happy.
You don’t have to stop at images. You can use affirmations too. Again, there are plenty of these available to download online or you can create your own. You could buy a colouring book of affirmations and photograph the results. You could also use easy software like Canva.
Please contact us for more information.
