Stress is a normal condition, experienced by everyone. It involves an emotional, physical or mental response to events that cause bodily or mental tension. It can be thought of as a state of readiness – the ‘fight or flight’ response. A small amount of stress from time to time is not a problem, it can even motivate us to get things done. But when stress is intense and ongoing such as this present time with us all adapting to new work and home environments and even the removal of our normal stress management mechanisms due to the strict social distancing strategies, it can start to impact our physical and mental health.
Below are some helpful tips to help you adapt and better manage your stress levels making this trying time a little easier for us all to get through.
1. Stay Connected to friends & family:
Our social and family networks are an incredibly important part of our lives and even though we may not be able to see anyone physically other than our immediate family, we are extremely lucky to have some amazing technology to ensure we can stay in touch. So try to schedule regular catch ups with your friends and family right from group facetime calls to a good old phone call or even a regular text message, just a simple ‘hello how are you’ can make a world of difference to someone who may be feeling slightly isolated.
2. Get Outside & Move:
Regular, moderate intensity exercise has been shown to be one of the most effective management techniques for chronic depression and anxiety. But don’t fear if your favourite gym is closed! Adapt!
● Spend time in the yard with your children or doing some simple gardening. This will expend some physical energy and also draw you away from too much time on devices and lazing on the couch.
● You can still leave the house for normal exercise as long as you follow the appropriate social distancing guidelines so keep walking the dog or riding.
● Research exercise apps. There are many varied excellent apps on devices that have structured workouts to help you keep up your exercising from the comfort of home.
3. Maintain Routine:
It may sound simple, but just keeping a routine like you would normally is very important. Routine creates stability and stability helps keep stress levels minimised. So make sure you keep to a normal bedtime and try to get your minimum 8 hours sleep, keep your normal morning routine so we don’t laze the day away unmotivated. Most importantly, keep a healthy balanced diet as our food is our body’s fuel and we always want to keep the body nourished and running optimally.
If you feel you aren’t able to manage on your own, please just talk to your local health professional, or get in touch with one of these organisations. Either over the phone or you will find excellent resources online.
● Kids Helpline (ages 5 to 25) — call 1800 55 1800
● Beyond Blue — call 1300 22 4636
● headspace (ages 12 to 25) — call 1800 650 890
● Lifeline — call 13 11 14
● Suicide Call Back Service — call 1300 659 467
Ref:
www.beyondblue.com.au
www.blackdoginstitue.com.au
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/loneliness-isolation-mental-health
