Home Healthcare Tips – Mental Health & Isolation
By now, you will have noticed a divide among community members, friends and families. As social distancing and self-imposed quarantine wear on and workplaces are directed to step back from providing physical contact services, the Covid-19 outbreak has left many people more alone than they’ve been in a long time, or ever.
Some are responding by hunkering down into cozy domesticity: baking, reading books, art projects, re-organzing. Others have begun to fray: FaceTiming with friends is a necessity, not a luxury; the closure of our favourite coffee spot in our communities is a cause for tears; the walls seem to be closing in.
The Struggle is Real.
Human beings are instinctively social animals. It is natural for us to feel alone or lonely when we are isolated from others. From the very beginning of time, our brains adapted to rely on social connections as a means to survive. According to neuroscientist John Cacioppo, “The absence of social connection triggers the same, primal alarm bells as hunger, thirst and physical pain.”
Put simply, “Humans don’t do well if they’re alone.”
We at Trillium want to provide some helpful tips to help you navigate the reality of physical distancing and staying at home and help you feel less alone:
1. Surround your living space with things that make you feel comforted and safe.
2. Sign up for an online exercise class, even just once to see what it’s like. There are a huge selection of apps out there for a variety of virtual exercise.
3. Watch some good TED Talks and Uplifting Podcasts. This is a great way to feel inspired, comforted, and connected with the rest of humanity.
4. Put together a list of movies you’ve always wanted to watch but never have, and then work your way through them one-by-one.
5. Do the same thing with books. Read every book that’s ever been on your to-read list, and marvel at how good it feels.
6. Write, however you want to. You don’t have to think of it as a ‘journal’ or a ‘diary’… Just write your feelings down without expectation. Did you know that writing down our thoughts creates actual NeuroPathway space to replace good thoughts.
7. Make your bed. It’s a small, easy, and quick task that still manages to give you a large sense of achievement and peace. Seriously, step back and feel the accomplishment. So Simple.
8. Look through old photos of some of your favourite memories, to remind yourself that life really can be joyful and that you are capable of getting there again, even if it doesn’t feel like that right now.
9. Go for a run. A short, easy, uplifting run. An intentional Brisk Walk will work too!
10. Write down a list of things you’re thankful for every night before you go to sleep. It takes barely two minutes, but it’s such a simple way to remind yourself of all the good in your life right before you close your eyes for the day.
….and finally…..
Be present in everything you do. Pay attention to the food you eat and how good it tastes, to the wine you drink and how lovely the flavours are, to the movie you’re watching without simultaneously scrolling through your phone and missing all the important parts, to the walk you’re on and how beautiful your surroundings are.
Put in the effort, one day at a time, to open your eyes to the life you’ve created for yourself. Because as they always say, if you blink, you really might miss it.
This is Temporary….You Got This.