We’re well into our second month of lockdown and it does now seem to have an air of normality about it doesnt it? Sounds old fashioned and maybe we are grasping for anything which looks like a positive in this situation but we have so enjoyed hearing the birds more since the roads quietened down. The next challenge is to identify what they are! Mind (the mental health charity) has circulated some useful wellbeing tips to see us through these isolating times, and with Mental Health Awareness week approaching it seems a good time to highlight the five key principles they recommend:
connect regularly with people even if it’s a quick phone call to a friend of family member, or a wave and shouting hello across the road to a neighbour; and is there anything better than receiving a letter? Much is written about the lost art of letter writing and the virtues of writing and receiving letters. Interestingly a number of our team have been writing letters to people they aren’t able to see during the lockdown, where phoning isn’t an option either. They have really enjoyed both the writing and receiving a response. Writing by its nature is a slower way of communicating and can mean that you give much more thought to what you’re going to say, your observations on life, and maybe being more honest about how things are going for you. Receiving a letter makes you really feel you are worth the time someone took to write it. Maybe during lockdown it’s a chance to get back to pen and paper?
keep physically active even if that means a short walk round the garden or a few chair exercises;
take notice and enjoy your environment whether that means listening to the birds or trying your hand at meditation;
keep learning – if you have access to the internet the world is your oyster! But even without that you’ve probably got an interesting book on a subject you always meant to read up on or a project that you never quite got started with;
give by being or doing something thoughtful for someone – all the evidence shows that doing so will enhance our own health and wellbeing, so it’s win-win.