Do you need a boost?

Coronavirus!! Its hard to ignore isn’t it? And in reality, we shouldn’t be ignoring it, but we don’t need to be feeding our minds with it 24/7 as it can increase our anxiety.

The more primitive area of our brains, our limbic system, our chimp (or however else you may to refer to it) is the part that looks after our survival. It looks for danger! Can you imagine what this part of the mind is doing at the moment? It is being fed with constant news updates through the television, notifications on our phones, overhearing conversations with our colleagues about it, or in the supermarket queue as we stand behind the person with 4 packs of 28 rolls. It’s a pretty scary scenario for that part of the mind. Even if consciously we are being a bit blasé about it all at the outer level, a little bit of us probably has some worries, if not about us, about the people that we love and care for who may be a greater risk than ourselves.  Wondering ‘If everyone else is panicking why aren’t I?’

So, what can we do to protect ourselves mentally and emotionally?

We all know how to prevent the spread and to protect against the risk of catching the virus, it’s very well documented but what about the anxiety that t may have provoked within us?

These are a few things that may help us to stay emotionally resilient during these times.

• Reduce the amount of media relating to the pandemic. If you update yourself maybe once or twice a day THAT IS ENOUGH! If morning TV is full of different ‘experts’ debating what should/shouldn’t be done for 3 hours, do something else.

Turn those notifications off on your phone so that you are not constantly bombarded by them, perhaps eliciting a little cortisol rush when you see them. Give your mind a little rest.

• Practice a bit more self-care whilst your stress levels are higher, go for a walk in a wide open space, a beach, a forest. Perhaps use some hypnotherapy, mindfulness, guided relaxations etc. to allow that primitive brain a bit of time out, and to stimulate the our more rational part of the mind.  Practices such as hypnotherapy also help to stimulate the vagus nerve, which is part of the parasympathetic nervous system and can give your immune system a boost.

• Connect with others through whatever means. If you feel that you need to self isolate, make sure you stay in contact with friends and family through phone calls, social media, email etc. Also keep yourself busy with fun things, books, games, arts and crafts, movies, even perhaps get those nagging jobs around the house done that have been waiting for ages.

• Eat well. Making sure we have a balanced diet protects our bodies.

• Get a good nights sleep, not only will that help boost our immune system, it will also help our minds to process all of the events of the day, so that we are calm and clear headed on awakening.

• If you have children, you may already know that for some it is a big worry, for others just excitement about the possibility of a month of school! Reassure them that they are safe and listen to and allay their concerns. Make sure you incorporate some of the above into their days as well as yours.

I’ve included a link here to an immune boosting hypnosis track to make you feel at your very best

Soundcloud Immune Boosting

Dropbox Immune Boosting

If you want to update yourself on the latest information, use trusted sources such as

Latest UK Government information, including countries of risk and travel advice: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

or

Latest advice from the NHS, including hand-washing advice, contact numbers and self-isolation procedures: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/