Jane Hardy is the founder and CEO of Blurt Foundation A social enterprise dedicated to helping those affected by depression.
Anything unprecedented brings with it uncertainty. Uncertainty about what lies ahead and uncertainty about how to handle a situation we haven’t been in before. When this doubt lingers and the landscape is constantly changing, it affects our mental health. Our brains are cunning beasts, designed to constantly scan the horizon for potential threats so we have information about what to do next. With the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve felt this threat literally at our front door, temporarily severing ties with our social support systems and disrupting life as we once knew it.
Societal pressures and expectations really got us moving fast, trick-balls galore, and we never really felt like we were doing or giving enough. And then, overnight, we found ourselves faced with additional, unimaginable demands.
The Office for National Statistics released its report: Personal and economic well-being in Great Britain Which begins to paint a picture of the losses that all this inflicts on us. It is estimated that nearly 12.5 million people in Great Britain have had their finances affected by the coronavirus, and of those 12.5 million, anxiety levels were 19 per cent higher than those who did not report lower incomes. The deterioration of the economic situation of the parents. More than half of the people who reported feeling lonely also reported that they struggled to get groceries and were more likely to report feeling unsafe at home. Mental health is complex and is affected by our internal and external environment. The solution will never be simple, but there are some things we can do to help ourselves and others.
Mental health is complex and is affected by our internal and external environment. The solution will never be simple, but there are some things we can do to help ourselves and others.
Reach
We’re all familiar with campaigns that encourage us to connect, but anyone who’s experienced poor mental health will tell you it’s not as easy as it sounds. Mental ill health brings with it an onslaught of feelings of unworthiness, helplessness, despair, shame and guilt. Asking for help when the disease itself makes you think you don’t deserve that help is an ongoing battle. If you know someone is struggling or someone you know seems to be calming down, Access.
Create and stick to self-care anchors
The messages behind self-care have become complex and toned down but self-care is essentially health care. It is the thoughts, actions, and behaviors that you will thank now in the future; Emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. These things change from person to person because we all top it off and drain it with different things. When creating self-care anchors, we create a list of things we will do daily that are not negotiable; Take a walk, talk to your loved one, and take breaks. Just like land anchors and balanced ships in the midst of stormy seas, self-care anchors can ground and balance us because the world around us is turned upside down.
Turn despair into hope
As the level of anxiety rises, we can fall into a negative thought cycle where we are looking (without realizing that we are doing it) for confirmation of that dreaded thing – this is a confirmation bias. During this pandemic, we didn’t have to search high and low, it was everywhere and anywhere. It is not about our desire to fake the positivity and pave the way, but at the same time we can take care of the issues and create a more comfortable indoor environment. We can do this by limiting our consumption of news and choosing how and when we consume it. Check out our social media feed so we can get to know her, uplift her and inspire her. to be helpful and to take hopeful action; Donate, raise awareness, volunteer, petition.
Lower our own expectations
Our expectations remain high when our circumstances go wrong and that’s a big problem. We’re not likely to be in an environment where we’re buoyant right now, and so if we drop the ball, second-guessing ourselves, finding it hard to make a decision, feeling down, etc., that’s perfectly normal. In the face of this uncertainty, this is to be expected. Conserving energy is important to longevity, so try to grab the minute moments to increase your reserves and pay attention to whether you expect too much from yourself when it comes to just survival. Give yourself permission to make the easiest paths and choices wherever possible.
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