 Understanding that every part, every role, every person has an equally important part to play in this, has helped me to feel part of something bigger than msyelf as it's often hard to see the 'wood for the trees' in a time like this. We all know that staying at home is so that we stop spreading the virus as fast which prevents overwhelming our NHS ensureing as many people can survive as possible. So even by just 'sitting at home', we are playing a pivotal part in our society. Netflix anyone? Since when has legitimately staying at home all day, eating snacks and watching TV been so paramount to health?! This leads me on to taking care of our minds. Some you may or may not know that I studied Psychology at university so I immediately look to psychological sources for both inspiration and explanation because the mind is such a fascinating part of our bodies. We cannot live without our minds. Machines can pump our hearts for us but as of yet, nothing can replicate the mind. It is just mind-boggling. I found this article on Psychology Today that talks about seven habits for a healthy mind in a healthy body but you really should read the fascinating article.  So, the article discusses the best ways to stay healthy:
It doesn’t surprise me to see daily exercise as number one. There have been numerous scientific studies that document the benefits of exercise. But look, I don’t exercise every day, I try to stay active (and I am with a little one) but it’s not my number one priority. I have a few issues with my knees and major problem with motivation so I’ll be looking to make small changes in this area – and that’s all it has to be. It recommends 20 minutes but if I do 5, that’s 5 more than yesterday!  The rest of these speak for themselves; I recently downloaded an app that allowed me and my friends to talk and see each other, we then did a quiz together! It was a Friends TV show quiz and was major fun. Got 45.5 thank you very much (ok, it was out of 80 but we did get over half-way and we enjoyed chatting to each other!). I’ll link the quiz company (find their Facebook page here) so you can take a look what they do. They are doing all sorts of quizzes like this over the coming weeks, think Disney and Harry Potter! They also raised an incredible £94,000 for the NHS which is absolutely amazing. If you do feel like you'd like some professional help, or just want some advice on how to keep a healthy mind, try starting with these websites. There are resources to look at and contacts should you need them. NHS website Mind.org
“Mental health…is not a destination but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going.” – Noam Spencer, The Good Pyschologist: A Novel. Be proud when you do make a good choice and give yourself a break when you need something a little different. Make sure that you reach out. This is important because sometimes, it is just too hard to feel positive ourselves. That’s ok. Get someone else to be that positive person. And when you feel ok, be that positive person to someone else. A simple little video you found on the internet that you find funny is enough. We have a family Watsapp group with our parents, my brother and our partners and we share funny memes, dog photos and videos all the time. Sometimes, this is all we do to communicate (and I refuse to believe we are the only family that does this!). Recently, our wider family has created another Watsapp group: 'Family Dinner Date', where we all share the dinners we’ve made for ourselves. My cousin set it up and all we do is post pictures and explain what we’ve eaten. So simple but just another way to connect with loved ones at a time like this. I just want to end with a final thought about ‘social distancing’. Whilst we cannot see people in the flesh, we can use the immense amount of technology around us to see our loved ones. Why not face time your parents/grandparents or just give them a call and chat about what you’ve been getting up to in isolation (if you don’t think that’s much – what TV have you watched? What books have you read?). Set up one of these face-time apps that allows many people to join at once. I’ve used Google Duo and will be using Zoom later: there are so many to choose from! Help your more ‘technologically challenged’ peeps out, give them a ring and then a step by step instruction on how to download and set up. Hey, you said you were bored earlier so this will help fill the void! Whatever you do, take some time for yourself, take some time to connect with others and remember that what you feel is valid, no matter the situation. Take care and stay safe everyone. STAY HOME. SAVE LIVES.  *Disclaimer: I am by no means a health care professional, I just wanted to share some thoughts and some places where you can go to get some professional help and advice should you want or need it. However, please feel free to comment with any ideas or tips you have found that has helped you to stay positive in the past to help us all try new things!
*As usual, I do not own any of the images on this blog post, they have all been found through internet searches to provide visual aids. The only image I own is the very first one which you are free to share.
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