Cases of coronavirus in the UK are on the up and we’re in another wave of this worldwide pandemic! Our stress levels are increasing and daily news updates heightens anxiety and worry. How is this impacting you? What feelings are coming up? What emotions are stirred?
You many find yourself in self-isolation and this can have a huge impact on your mental health, maybe more so if you live alone. Isolation doesn’t have to be lonely or frustrating. You can look at it as a time to reflect. You can look at it as a time of solitude; finding strength in being alone, it’s time you have to fully invest in what’s important. You!
Being in isolation doesn’t make you weak because you are lonely. It makes you stronger and there is peace of mind knowing that. In times of uncertainty we are forced outside of what we are used to, it builds resilience. Utilise the time to its fullest.
You may be reading this and thinking I can’t do that! That’s okay too, shifting the mind -set is not an easy task but it is possible when you tell your brain to think a certain way enough times. When things are out of our control we can challenge ourselves to control the way we respond and deal with them. You have to believe it though…right?
Below are a few tips to support your mental and emotional health, practical things you can do if you are ready to want to. You can try one of them, all of them, modify them or adjust them to suit your personal needs.
Tips on how to relax during Isolation
Do one thing daily that brings you joy!
Embrace the feeling of solitude and do one thing at least on a daily basis that makes you happy. Keep your brain stimulated and body relaxed and make a list of the things that are available to you in the current climate and also accessible to you.
- Reading a book; pick up the book(s) that you’ve wanted to read and utilise the time now to indulge into a genre of your choice.
- Listening to an audio book, you can get a free trial on Amazon Audible and choose to stimulate the mind, there’s a great variety available. See link below
- Audible
- Learn something new – polish up your cooking/baking skills. There’s a range of videos online with some great recipes to suit all dietary needs, you just got to make sure you have the right ingredients in your cupboards.
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes
Make the space around you beautiful.
Your environment directly affects how you are feeling. Your physical environment plays a major role in your mood and your emotional wellbeing.
Once you have changed the way you think about isolation it’s time to change the space you are in. What can you do in your home to create an environment that is inspiring and energising? Have you ever noticed as soon as you walk into a spa how quickly you feel relaxed and at ease and the mind calm and serene?
Change the sights, sounds and scents of spaces in your home.
Sights; when you walk into each room of your home – think how you could enhance the space visually.
You could;
Create or get a painting and make it the first thing you see when you open the door to that room/space.
Surround yourself with colours and bright things that bring positivity.
Buy a plant or fresh flowers and put them in the centre of the room.
Sounds; when you walk into a room what sounds can you hear, what sounds do you want to hear? What brings you joy?
You could;
Play music that you enjoy throughout the day that keeps you uplifted and energised.
Go to sleep listening to nature sounds and calming music.
Place a wind-chime near a window and listen to the sounds of it when the wind blows it has a very therapeutic effect on ones wellbeing.
Scent; what you smell has a big impact on how you feel. How can you incorporate new scents into your home?
You could;
Place a candle in each room with a difference scent. What’s your favourite scent? In the living space you could use uplifting fragrances such as neroli or orange and in the bedroom more relaxing fragrances such as lavender, jasmine or rose.
Place reed diffusers in each room and most reed diffusers have a shelf life of about 3-4 weeks, they are easy to assemble and can be tastefully displayed anywhere in the home.
If you have an oil diffuser at home you can fill with your favourite essential oils and fill the room with your favourite fragrances. The great thing about using diffusers is that you can change the scent to suit your mood.
I hope you find some inspiration from this article to support your mental health during times of isolation. These are relatively simple ways to make your space more relaxing. You don’t need to renovate, but it’s good to change things around. Go through your home and open each door and notice the impact the space makes and change it by bringing in something that looks pleasing on the eye, is music to the ears and brings a sense of wellbeing to the mind by using scent. Autumn is a wonderful time of year, just like leaves falling off trees, you can shed away things that are no longer serving your mental health and invite in the new.
Written by Kam Bola, Wellbeing Life-Coach, Yoga and Meditation teacher. Kam is Birmingham based and has been an educator for 19 years, working with adults supporting mental, emotional and physical health. Kam teaches in a number of yoga studios across the city and you will find her working in grass roots communities empowering women to be the best version of themselves. Kam works at ACP The Family Wellbeing Centre in Birmingham. Follow her on Instagram acp.birmingham and @kambola.lifecoach.
