Surviving COVID-19
Claire Nelson, Perth College UHI Student Support Worker and Associate Student Counsellor, shares her advice and tips on surviving COVID-19.
For most, life as we know it has changed. All of us cope with change in different ways, but for most there are aspects of loss and grief being experienced as we try to re-adjust to current times. The most important thing to remember, is there is no right way to respond to this - and we are all doing our best to get by and hopefully support others.
When panic sets in
We are going through an incredibly stressful and anxiety provoking time at the moment. It can be easy to catastrophise and go into fear mode and start to panic. Grounding can be a really good way to reduce anxiety and stress levels. Try this: put both feet flat on the floor and take a breath in as you count to 7 and out as you count to 11. This will help to reduce anxiety, and bring you back into the present.
Try these grounding exercises.
This is not normal
There’s nothing normal about this experience. It’s taking lots of us out of our comfort zones, and it really feels like it’s playing with us. Most of us will have been caught unaware of this pandemic and, before we knew it, we couldn’t visit family and friends anymore.
We are experiencing loss in lots of different ways. Loss of connections with others, not having a routine anymore, and for some not being able to earn money as they can’t go to work. Loss and grief will be being experienced, and having awareness of the losses can help us to make sense of our experience.
Practice gratitude
Notice the little things. Most of us are probably guilty of running around like headless chickens doing lots of different things at once and noticing very little. Take the opportunity to notice what your senses pick up. Can you hear less cars and more birds chirping? If you have a pet, spend some time relaxing with them and petting them. How soft is their fur? When you look out of the window, what do you see? My neighbour has ‘Stay Safe’ written on their window, a message of hope.
Go with what’s right for you
Go with your instincts, if sticking to a routine works for you then go with that. Getting up at the same time each day, getting washed and dressed may be the way you like to do things. Other people may find that going with the flow and doing what feels rights is the better way for them. As long as things are still getting done, and you feel calm and not too stressed, then you’re winning. Don’t put too much pressure on doing things the way others are, we are all individual and have our own ways of coping.
Limit the negativity
Make sure you’re informed and have access to the most up-to-date information on the virus, but at the same time too much information on COVID-19 can be stressful and induce anxiety. Limit the amount of time you listen to the news on this, you may start to notice your anxiety ease off.
How about a home workout?
You can still keep active from home. Physical exercise has many positive benefits on mental health. The Academy of Sport and Wellbeing are offering a fantastic FREE online provision including HIIT, Tabata and Core workouts. On weekdays there are 3 workouts per day, and they even have workouts for everyone over the weekends. Go to their Facebook page to access the videos live, or take part in the recorded workouts at your leisure.
Who do I want to be during COVID-19?
Consider the diagram below and ask yourself did you start in the fear zone? Have you moved? What parts of the growth zone would you like to try out? Remember you don’t necessarily jump from zones from left to right and you may have set-backs and that’s ok.
How’s your self-care looking?
Remember to still make time for self-care. Just because you are spending more time at time, you should still choose to do things for yourself that can be classed as looking after yourself. Make sure you still keep to good boundaries so make sure you’re taking appropriate breaks during study. Connect with others as much as possible remotely - phone a family member, or Skype your friends for a catch up. Spend some time doing something that will make you feel good. That could be going for some exercise - as we are allowed either a walk, run or cycle per day. Or play a computer game you’ve not played in a long time. Or why not paint your nails? The list is endless.
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