In this post, you will find a few tips to help you feel a bit better despite the current lockdown.
COVID-19 has been part of our lives for almost a year now. And despite the clear impact it has on our physical health, doctors and psychologists get more and more worried about the impact it has on people’s mental health.
The purpose of this blog post is to help you find ways to stay positive while being surrounded by so much negativity brought by the pandemic.
A Belgian study showed that depressive disorders increased from 10% in 2018 to 16% in 2020. The most affected portion of the population are the 16-24 equalling 30% of both young women and young men (United Nations’ data). These numbers are horrifying.
Do you need more proof that it is time for us to worry about our mental health?
I think you got it: it is more than essential that we find some positive aspects in our everyday life!
Here is a non-exhaustive list on how to stay positive during lockdown:
This advice is the most important one, and yet so easy to apply.
Let’s take an example in the Irish Times to show you how anxiety-driving the media can be: just by reaching the main page of this online newspaper, we can see that
Now ask yourself, is the news crucial for your everyday life?
As shown by several studies, bad news constantly repeated by the informative medias can impact negatively our health, whether it is mental or physical. You CAN get sick from negativity.
Our solution is simple: avoid listening to medias all day long. Many people listen to the radio when they wake up, get up and get dressed, read the newspaper while having breakfast and listen again to the radio on their way to work. And they also check the news on Facebook during their free time. To get the most important updates about the news, it is enough to check a trusted source of information once a day, preferably in the evening, to avoid all these negative thoughts to affect your day continuously.
Now that you have unfollowed all the negative accounts, you are maybe wondering what you will listen to while getting ready, and what you are now going to check on your phone, to stay focus on something else than COVID information.
DON’T WORRY, we have the solution.
We advise you to follow positive accounts (because YES it does exist). On Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and even on Spotify, you can find content that reminds you that the world is still a nice place, despite everything negative happening.
Instead of listening to the radio while getting ready, why not listen to a podcast?
Here we propose 2 ideas of podcasts with positive vibes, but you can find podcasts about absolutely any subject you are interested in.
POSITIVE VIBES PODCAST:
If you want to stop feeling anxious after spending 10 minutes on your phone, we also advise positive contents on Instagram (or Facebook).
POSITIVE VIBES ON INSTAGRAM:
POSITIVE VIBES ON YOUTUBE :
The Internet can be full of anger and sadness, but with only a little bit of research, it is possible to find a ton of content that share hope and joy, it is up to you to consume these.
This advice is a bit more common, and I am sure you have heard it a lot already, but it remains an important one.
Even though it can be very hard to follow… Even more with the curfews in some countries or the limitations of distance to travel in others.
Going out has a ton of positive impacts on your health, but moreover, not going out can be very harmful for yourself, from a physical perspective, but also a mental one. Some doctors prescribe to their patients to go out, as they could prescribe a medication.
It doesn’t need to be long, just long enough to get natural light, walk a few steps and say hi to two people. And as soon as you are outside, your way of transport can be very simple—like walking or cycling—but you can also try something different: scooter, rollerskate, skateboard, etc. Feel free to enjoy this time you give to yourself.
Do not hesitate to visit some hidden places around your house, take roads you have never taken or just take the time to enjoy your neighbourhood, which we often take for granted.
You can install an app on your phone to track the number of kilometres you roam and set a weekly objective of distance.
And if you need motivation to go out because you feel that just walking is boring, a good solution is to add fun to it.
Here are two simple ideas:
And with a bit of creativity, you can find many more ideas to enjoy going out even more. It creates fun for children, but also certainly for grown-ups ;-)
With lockdown and COVID, it is really easy to self-isolate and lose touch with your friends and family. And being locked in 24/7 with the same people can harm relationships. But instead, let’s stay in touch while using what the 21st century gave us: technology! We can all agree on the fact that online chat will never replace talking in-person, but while it is all we have left to do, let’s be happy with it. But let me add a little bit of spice to that!
Once the conversation is done, because let’s be honest, we don’t have a lot of gossip to share during these difficult times, why not play some games?
For the people you are living with:
It can be easy to feel like nothing is worth it these days. You cannot see your loved ones, you are working from home, and everything is closed. But it is important to keep in mind some objectives to help you get up in the morning.
Some can choose to improve their habits by eating healthier and being more active, but it can also be to learn a new language, to acquire knowledge about finance, to start meditation, to redecorate your place, etc. Your purpose can be of any type as long as it looks important to YOU.
BONUS : For readers located in France or in Belgium, the app WeWard is a good motivation to walk : it counts your steps and gives you points in exchange. At the end, you can use these points to get reductions on some partner brands’ products or even get money on your bank account after a while. It doesn’t go up fast, but it is better than nothing.