Self-care
What does this mean?
the practice of taking an active role in protecting and improving one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.
In the current circumstances, we face challenges or threats to our:
own health or the health of those close to us
financial security or again the financial security of those close to us
working environment/roles
So the need for self-care, and for the care of others, has risen to become more of a priority for many people. In addition, sudden unexpected change and challenge can also present opportunities to be open to new possibilities …to become more aware of new ways of improving our self-awareness, self-management and the ways in which we interact with others: be it at work or at home. It goes without saying, this pandemic heightens our awareness of the fact we are social animals…we have to practise social distancing not only to stay safe and save lives but because we instinctively mix and stay close to others: it is an unconscious need most people have and it can be difficult to put restrictions on this…something governments have been advised upon.
Over the coming weeks, we will explore common and new ways of practising self-care. It may offer you a new possibility to explore…a new habit to create…and new ways of perhaps helping others now or in the future. Here’s a visual way of depicting one aspect of the types of challenges you may be experiencing or someone close to you.
So, perhaps one of the new stressors on the left hand side is remote working. What can we do to practise more self-care in the management of this stressor?
Further below, we have compiled a series of links from some helpful sources….charities, the World Health Organisation and some popular magazines…to offer you a range to study depending upon your need and preferred style. There are plenty of ideas about how to manage your mental and physical wellbeing during this time and particularly about working from home.
However, if you’d like a quick guide to stimulate your own thinking on this then here’s our checklist for today….starting with some thoughts on where to start and how to apply structure. We have approached this in a way that most of the written articles have not:
What’s your need or rationale to managing yourself while working from home?
It’s important to identify what is your priority. For example:
Is it simply to create some structure to your day?
Is it that you are living by yourself and you are missing the social contact you enjoy by going to work?
Is it that you are experiencing a difficulty in closing down your day so that you can switch off from work….sometimes having a commuting journey home does exactly that for many people.
Or maybe home life brings other stressors that are difficult to avoid when spending all of your time there.
So, first things first…what is the nature of the stressor or stressors which are impacting you the most?
Finding and applying solutions
The attached links offer many solutions and we set out some below too. Consider these and study the links for others if there’s nothing here which appeals. But…please remember that applying solutions requires some patience and discipline. It takes at least two-three weeks to embed a new habit. So, try applying whatever solution in easy bite-size chunks to you give yourself the best chance of habituating something which improves your health and wellbeing. Set aside a few minutes each day for this habit. You can gradually increase the amount of time spent on the habit…this gives it a greater chance of success. This is why most recommendations do not work for people…they fail to recognise it is hard to create and sustain new habits. Therefore, we need to be psychologically shrewd with ourselves….make it psychologically easy to learn and stay with a new way of moving, relaxing, eating, etc. It may be that you can feel yourself already adapting well to working from home. If that’s the case maybe there’s not to much to be done and the following just offers some tweaking to further help your positive response to change.
Self-care and Structure
Many of us like a structure to our day and working from home may mean we have to create our own. There are many ways in which this can be done and here’s a way you can decide which approach works best for you:
Time: decide if you wish to start, finish and take breaks as you would in the workplace. Or maybe there is a better way you can structure your day, or maybe have a structure that varies through the week e.g start at 08.30 Monday, Wednesday, Friday and a different start time on Tuesday and Thursday. Agree with yourself and anyone else you live with when is a good time to have a break together if that is something you enjoy. If that isn’t possible agree with work colleagues when you can have a break and speak to each other…maybe FaceTime with a cup mom coffee or tea.
Clothing: do you want to dress as if you are going to work, so that you feel more work-like but also because by changing back in to more casual clothes at the end of the day it helps the mental transition back into home life
Physical location: it is likely to be helpful to work in a room that you don’t sleep in or relax in at the end of the day…again to help that transition from work to home. If this is not possible maybe you can sit in different places within a room e.g if it’s a table…sit at one end while working and a different end when eating or having a tea break.
Complexity of work: most people tend to be at their best earlier in the day…as the day progresses the stress hormones can accumulate in our system (this is normal even in easier circumstances) but if they get too high then our working memory capacity reduces and our ability to concentrate and focus dwindles. This can happen gradually so we may not be that aware of it until later in the afternoon. So, think about how you can structure your day according to complexity of tasks…don’t put off the difficult ones until later. Get them done early on so that day becomes less stressful…it will also help you transition into a more relaxed state by the time you finish. When you get a complex task done reward yourself with a break, a snack, your favourite music etc.
Experiencing stress: have a structure to anticipate and manage stress….if you can avoid going into fight, flight or freeze (overwhelm) that is good for your energy. Our typical stress response is a very energy draining state for the nervous system…so try to anticipate and structure your response to obvious stressors e.g. at the time of writing this, I am anticipating hosting a video conference tomorrow morning from 10.00 - 11.00 with a senior leadership team. It will be demanding…not unpleasantly so but, nevertheless, mentally demanding and tiring. So I’m anticipating that, preparing properly and not planning any other conference calls until 13.00 so I have time to respond after the conference to any request which arise but also to take a break…and probably a fresh air break.
Social media and news updates: can you structure this too? It’s a time when many people want to stay connected to others because of the absence of physical connection and also to keep abreast of the latest developments in Coronavirus. However, even this needs to be balanced with spending our time at work, looking after other aspects of our wellbeing and sleeping well. Perhaps you can set a goal of reducing the amount of screen time you spend outside of work hours if you are feeling too stressed, tired, overwhelmed. Or maybe think about how you can structure your screen time so out is as good quality as possible…talking to others will tend to be better use of screen time than reading depressing news stories one after the other.
Exercise: moving and exercising is essential to our mood, emotional regulation, clarity of thinking, immune system, physical wellbeing and many other short-term and long-term factors. We will cover this topic in other ways, particularly when looking at the importance of exercise to boosting your immunity, but for now it is another way in which you can add structure to your day and week. You don’t need to exercise vigorously every day but certainly exercising (and this can mean a brisk walk) to raise your heart rate for 150 minutes, in total, a week over 4/5 separate sessions is a good bet for most of us.
On other days you can try:
stretching routines
yoga
slower walking
gardening, if that’s an option for you
housework
cleaning the car
Anything which is a gentle way to move more. Check out the link to our video library for exercising at home in the link on the home page of this release. Or go straight to it from here:
For those who love exercise be careful not to over-exercise if you are experiencing other significant sources of stress…for more explanation on the risk this presents please email me: mark@7futures.com.
Sedentary behaviour: another way to add some structure is by planning your sitting and having non-sitting time. Being sedentary too long too often is not good for the immune system or muscular-skeletal system. So determine when you are going to be sedentary and plan in some simple stretching and movement for other parts of the day. Why not have a 10 minute routine to be done just before your lunch break and again when you finish work. This can help that transition into your home state of mind particularly if you do some simple breathing or mindfulness techniques during the stretching routine…i.e. you can enjoy multiple benefits simply by creating some non-sedentary structure.
Anxiety UK
www.anxietyuk.org.uk/coronanxiety-support-resources/
Anxiety UK have a vast selection of online resources that are available for free as blog posts, links and videos. These resources cover topics such as tolerating uncertainty, feeling trapped and claustrophobic and dealing with panic. Anxiety UK also offers a text help service, a telephone helpline and an online chat.
Mind UK
www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus/
Like Anxiety UK, the mental health charity Mind have an immense selection of resources to help through the COVID 19 pandemic. They have tips on dealing with loneliness, anxiety and panic attacks, trauma plus much more.
Mental Health Organisation - Working from home
The Mental Health Organisation website has a vast selection of helpful resources for general mental health and wellbeing. They, like many, have added specialised resources during the COVID-19 outbreak. This particular link includes tips for home working (including the importance of getting into a routine, keeping up the formal and social flow of work and using any support that is being offered).
NHS - Coping with COVID 19 anxiety
www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips/
The NHS website 'Every Mind Matters' have created 10 top tips to deal with COVID 19 anxiety. These tips include how to stay prepared, stay connected and how to stay on top of difficult feelings. There are links to further support and advice as well as an option for if you are in need of urgent support.
The Guardian - Boosting your immune system
You’re washing your hands thoroughly and avoiding touching your face but what else can you do to improve your health and avoid bugs? This article looks at how to boost your immune system to avoid colds and as far as you can, Coronavirus.
ELLE Magazine - 5 ways to combat anxiety
www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/articles/a33884/five-ways-to-combat-anxiety/
An article with 5 ways to combat anxiety in these troubling times including at home CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) techniques for dealing with anxiety and mindfulness techniques. This article also includes the APPLE technique from Anxiety UK - Acknowledge - Pause - Pull back - Let go - Explore.
Vogue - Boosting immunity
https://www.vogue.com/article/how-to-boost-immune-system
An article detailing immune boosting foods and vitamins.
World Health Organisation
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