Creating good mental habits in lockdown

We are all experiencing fundamental changes in the trajectory of our lives. As we continually adjust to this new evolving reality, establishing good mental habits instead of unhealthy ones will significantly impact our wellbeing.

Fear and uncertainty can lead to anxiety. Maintaining good habits will build resilience and calm to help you shift the focus and navigate these times with more ease. Good mental habits can support y matter how much things change. 

Here are a few simple habits we recommend:

Stay calm by managing stress triggers. When you notice stress triggers nip it in the bud before it feeds on itself. Use breathing to help ground your awareness and stay calm. Take some long deep breaths - 4 counts breathing in, 6 counts of holding, 8 to breathe out. 

1. Express gratitude for the gift that is being alive. Focus on things that bring stability and happiness into our lives and be thankful for them. Change can be uncomfortable, but hardship can defiantly give you perspective for how lucky we are to be here. We are going to get through this. It isn't the end. Allow yourself to laugh, be present and experience every moment and embrace the rollercoaster of feelings you may go through.  

2. Make 'connection' the new infection and have fun! Spend time with your loved ones, cuddle your pet, make a phone call to a friend, join a virtual group activity or learn something new with an online class. 

3. Set a limit on screen time. Don't get addicted to checking the news or social media; limit use only a few times a day. Make your feed work in your favour by decluttering the pages and people that prompt a negative response in you or ones that don't bring any value. Curate a feed that can be a place of inspiration, education and connection. It's also essential to reduce screen time, and other stimulants before bed to ensure you maintain quality sleep hygiene. 

4. Take it one day at a time. Your brain doesn't like uncertainty, and it gets stuck in 'what if' thinking pattern when it tries to plan for the future, rather than attempting to plan for next month or even for the next two weeks, practice taking it one day at a time or even by the hour to keep you calm and connected. 

5. Be kind to yourself and others. Ask what you need rather than want at that moment and let that be your direction. Nourish yourself with healthy foods, practice movement and meditation, and avoid toxicity in your life. Pass on kindness to others and the community. We are all the better off when we connect and work together collectively.

Let's make lemonade out the lemons we have been given, and utilise this unique time in our lives to turn it into something useful for the future. As your new routine starts to set, make sure you form these healthy mental habits that will help you today and the rest of your life. 

Remember to be calm, kind, patient and have courage. 

“And the people stayed home.
And read books, and listened, and rested,
and exercised, and made art, and played games,
and learned new ways of being, and were still.
And listened more deeply.
Some meditated, some prayed, some danced.
Some met their shadows.
And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed.
And, in the absence of people living in ignorant,
dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways,
the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again,
they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images,
and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully,
as they had been healed.”

— An inspiring poem, by Kitty O'Meara