We are well into our first day back at Alert Level 4 as an entire nation, and I’m watching the 1pm update as new cases are announced and the genomic sequencing points to the variant originating in NSW, Australia.
If you’re feeling anxious, it’s important to understand what stokes your anxiety and what calms it. Checking your newsfeed and social media might be something that makes you feel worse, not better. If that sounds like you, maybe check trusted sources of news 3 times a day – once in the morning, during or after the 1pm update, and once in the early evening. It’s important to stay informed but not to overwhelm yourself.
What do you do for the rest of the day?
We know that the people who seemed to do better in the lockdowns last year seemed to have absorbing activities that took up their attention, and that they found absorbing and enjoyable. So, line up some projects for you and the kids. Chunk up your time so that you can switch activities after an hour or so, make sure you get a bit of body movement in, as well as connecting to people online or over the phone that make you feel good.
Understand that you have control over your behaviour – even though there’s a lot that feels out of control right now. Stay home. If you need to leave to get food or medicine, plan your trip: how will you stay 2m distant from other people? Where’s your mask? Is your QR code scanning app ready? Is bluetooth switched on? Got your sanitiser? To have the best chance, you need to do all these things, not just some of them when you feel like it.
All the things, all the time.
Finally, your emotions can feel overwhelming – try to let them go. If you find yourself in an endless loop of “what if?” Scenarios and constantly worrying, you can write your worries down and that releases your mind to do other things that can absorb you.
Find out more in my series of lockdown videos on my YouTube channel. There’s so much content to help you there.
Take care, be kind, and we can do this.
