Self-care practices for our changing world

We are in this together.

I feel passionately that NOW is the time when self care matters most. Access to support systems and professional resources may be harder than it has been in the past. So instead, we may turn to ourselves and call on the reserves of strength, resilience and courage that we all have inside of us.

Having a regular and robust self-care strategy is going to be so important over the next few weeks or months. Exactly what this means will look different for each of us, but it is likely to be necessary to help us cope and contribute. While coronavirus is a big old stress that feels front-and-centre of our lives and is inevitably taking up a vast amount of bandwidth, life is still happening around it – both the ups and downs. I realise all of the information can feel overwhelming so where do we start when it all feels so big?

I have always found it helpful to divide ‘wellbeing’ into separate zones or areas. It’s too homogenous to lump it all together and ends up leaving me feeling paralysed with all the different things I feel I could be doing. So instead, I want to take it right back to basics here and focus on the things I think probably matter the most.

Sleep. Movement. Mind.
Food. Connection. Health.

It is crucial that as we think about these things, we remember that we cannot do it ‘all’ at the moment (if ever!). We cannot eat a “perfect” diet (not any time actually), not least because access to ingredients is likely to be sporadic. We cannot exercise in the way we might have been used to. We are unlikely to have long stretches of quiet time to ourselves for mindfulness practices (especially if we have little ones at home). Stress levels are high enough already. So, please, please don’t pile any extra guilt onto yourselves at the moment. We can all afford to let a few things go. Focus instead on being good enough. This is not a time for strict wellness rules (bar the obvious importance of public health advice). Flexibility is going to be key over the next few months.

Here are some things that my team and I have come up with that we hope might provide a little inspiration to help you care for yourselves during these uncertain times.

Wishing you all courage and compassion.

 

amelia freer

FdSc, Dip ION

Separate zones of ‘wellbeing’

Mind

Sleep

Movement

Food

Community

Health

Disclaimer: As always, the information contained within these articles is in no way a substitute for professional health, nutritional or medical advice. Please be mindful of your own needs and seek professional support as necessary. The situation surrounding coronavirus is rapidly changing, so current public health or legal guidelines may be different from when this article was written or last updated. The same goes for any of the resource links that we have shared. Please stay informed and stay safe.

There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.