Dear Parents,
As our time in lockdown is now becoming the new norm and we as families are juggling with homeschooling, work and general household chores, I thought I would share with you two ideas about mental well-being that have resonated with me this week.
Firstly, a chart that was sent to me by a colleague:
We might notice that our mental wellness goes up and down, maybe even more so during this lockdown period when our sense of normality has been turned upside down. One way to manage our mental health better is to divide up our time throughout the day, or perhaps concentrating on every two or three days. Human beings thrive on balance. If we spend too much time on one aspect of our life and neglect others, we could find ourselves becoming bored, feeling down, unable to concentrate, maybe arguing with loved-ones or feeling frustrated and stressed. It can creep up on us without us expecting to feel that way. Creating balance in our lives can help us to prevent negative energy before it starts to surface. If we look at the chart we can get some idea of how we could split up our time into different categories.
Maybe write on a piece of paper how you have been spending your time so far throughout a typical day or week and what changes you can make to live a more balanced way of life. Even small changes can make a big difference in how we are feeling and the time we are giving to ourselves to self-care as well as build relationships with others.
The second was a simple exercise that followed a mindfulness session that I participated in. Maybe it is something you can do as a family at a mealtime?
In these quite gloomy times, it is good to take time to think of 10 things that we are grateful for right now at this time e.g. cuddling the dog, listening to the birdsong (easier to hear with no traffic), etc. Thinking of things that we are grateful for then helps bring some joyful thoughts into our minds and might provide an entertaining family conversation – try it!
Take care and keep safe,
Please contact me if I can be of any support at this time.
Henrietta
Henrietta.deasy@place2be.org.uk
You can also visit the Place2Be website where there are links with information around how we can support our own as well as your family’s mental well-being during the epidemic.