13 tips to destress during lockdown

Feb 10, 2021

HOW TO MANAGE LOCKDOWN ANXIETY

The Covid Pandemic has been a challenging and uncertain time which has escalated feelings of anxiety and helplessness.

To help ensure your mental and physical wellbeing during lockdowns, the following strategies have been shown to help manage anxiety and decrease stress.

  1. Acknowledge and recognise your anxiety – remember that you are not alone in feeling this way.
     
  2. Maintain some structure and plan your day; if you are working from home, have clear boundaries between work and non-work. Also break work into bite-sized chunks with clear breaks.
     
  3. Engage in a hobby or activity that you find enjoyment in.
     
  4. Limit the time you are exposed to the news. Constantly listening to or watching the news will only add to you anxiety. Instead, allocate a short amount of time once daily to catch up on the news preferably earlier in the daytime.
     
  5. Whilst we have been unable to maintain our social and work contacts outside of our household or support bubble, it is still possible to keep in touch through other channels such as telephoning, FaceTiming etc.
  1. Keeping a gratitude diary- writing 3 or 4 things that have made you happy or that you are grateful for that day can help alleviate stress. It can be as simple as “ the sun is shining today!”
     
  2. Writing can be cathartic so if you are struggling with feelings of anxiety, writing these thoughts down can provide clarity and allow you to see things from a different perspective.
     
  3. Relaxation in the form of meditation, mindfulness, breathing exercises or yoga have been shown to be an effective form of anxiety management.
     
  4. Physical activity works wonders in managing anxiety-just even doing a 5 or 10 minute circuit of exercises such as star jumps, high knees, squats, lunges and press-ups can help alleviate stress.
     
  5. Listening to music; it is thought that listening to music at a tempo of 60bpm can have a relaxing and calming effect and if you listen to this for at least 45 minutes, it may also help induce sleep.
     
  6. Staying well hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
     
  7. Avoid the consumption of fried foods or processed foods rich in refined grains and refined sugars.
     
  8. Eat more of a whole food plant based diet.
Even though these tips might make sense, they are often difficult to put into practice when you are feeling stressed. Our team are here to help you fit these healthy habits into your every day routines. Book an appointment today to see how we can support you.

References

1) Hiremath, Pavan et al. “COVID 19: Impact of lock-down on mental health and tips to over-come.” Asian journal of psychiatry vol. 51 (2020): 102088. doi:10.1016/
2) Cunha, Lúzie Fofonka et al. “Positive Psychology and Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” Frontiers in psychology vol. 10 584. 21 Mar. 2019, doi:10.3389/
3) Bora B, Krishna M and Phukan K D 2017 The effects of tempo of music on heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate – A study in gauhati medical college Indian Journal of Physiolo-gy and Pharmacology

Images source: Canva

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