Wellness tips during Isolation

1. Create a personalized routine. Try to go to bed at a reasonable time and ensure the schedule is varied allowing for work, chores, "play" and self-care/you time.

2. Get out of your pyjamas. Have a shower, do some grooming and cleaning, enjoy the process. Pick an outfit; make it fun and exciting (if you want). Try and enjoy the ability to wear whatever you like, not just your pyjamas. You could even have themed days!

3. Make sure to get out at least once a day, and aim for at least thirty minutes. Please make sure to still socially isolate. If you are high risk or living with those who are high risk, open the side doors and windows and blast the fan. Fresh air can lift your mood immensely.

4. Get some movement every day. Aim for 30 minutes. You can take your dog for a walk, clean up the house, look up a workout tutorial on YouTube, or dance around to music.

5. Keep in contact. You can do FaceTime, Skype, phone calls, texting-connect with other people to seek and provide support. Include your children as well and encourage them to stay in contact with friends. Set up virtual playdates with friends daily via FaceTime, Facebook Messenger Kids, or Zoom.

6. Stay hydrated and eat as well as you can. Stress and eating often don't mix well, and we find ourselves over-indulging, forgetting to eat, and avoiding food. Drink plenty of water and eat nutritious food. Use this as an opportunity to learn how to cook new things. Once again you could even make themes for each day! You could even do the outfit theme and food theme the same!? I like themes.

7. Create a personalized self-care toolkit.

Often people's self-care strategies involve a sensory component (seven senses: touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell, vestibular (movement) and proprioceptive (comforting pressure). Ideas could include a soft blanket or stuffed animal, hot cocoa, photos of friends, soothing music, aromatherapy, a small swing or rocking chair, a weighted blanket. A journal, an inspirational book, or a mandala colouring book is wonderful, bubbles to blow or blowing watercolour on paper through a straw is visually appealing as well as work on the controlled breath. Mint gum, Listerine strips, ginger ale, frozen Starburst, ice packs, and cold are also good for anxiety regulation. For children, it is great to help them create a self-regulation comfort box (often a shoe-box or bin they can decorate) that they can use on the ready for first-aid when overwhelmed.

8. Positively focus on your children. Ask them if they want to play, and try and get them excited about things. Children aren't as well versed in communicating how they are feeling, but will often strive for attention and communication through play.

9. Try your best to be empathetic. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Remember that everybody is struggling right now. Just because somebody snaps at you, doesn't mean you should do it back.

10. Create an area for everyone to have their "me time". If you have limited rooms you can create forts. We must have time to ourselves.

11. Expect behavioural issues in children, and respond gently. Children rely on routine to stay stable. Expect increased anxiety, worries, and fears, nightmares, difficulty separating or sleeping, testing limits, and meltdowns. Being harsh and bringing in major behavioural plans or consequences at this time wouldn't be applicable. This isn't normal; we have to adjust everything for now.

12. Focus on safety and attachment. Focus on strengthening your connection through time spent following their lead, through physical touch, through play, through therapeutic books, and via verbal reassurances that you will be there for them at this time.

13. Lower your expectations and practice radical self-acceptance. We are trying to hold ourselves to an inapplicable standard and making ourselves overworked with chores or self-work projects. This does not make a formula for excellence. Let yourself relax. Practice "radical self-acceptance": accepting everything about yourself, your current situation, and your life without question, blame, or pushback. You cannot fail at this-there is no roadmap, no precedent for this, and we are all doing what we can do survive. If you need to push yourself to exceed any standard, make it being kind to others.

14. Try and limit social media and COVID conversation, especially around children. The information being posted is often sensationalized, negatively skewed, and alarmist. Make sure to stay aware to keep the news and alarming conversations out of earshot from children-they may not tell you but they see and hear everything, and can become very frightened by what they hear. To stay updated download the "COVID 19" Government app available on Apple and Android App Stores.

15. Take note of the good things happening right now. I am noticing people starting go-fund me's, volunteering to help others, paying coffees forward, these things are wonderful. Let it brighten your day.

16. When we feel uncertain and overwhelmed it's wise to find something we can be certain of. Find something you can control and focus on it. Reorganize the kitchen cupboard; build furniture, tidy the garage. This reorganizing helps us feel anchored and in control which can help when our external world is chaotic.

17. Pick a long term project to invest your time into. This could be writing a story, renovating your home, reorganizing your organization system in your office, watching Lord Of The Rings, starting a video game, or reading a book series. This will help you stay focused and distracted from the outside world.

18. Try and engage in some repetitive left-right movement activities. Research has proven that repetitive movement can be therapeutic and soothing during times of distress. Activities could be drumming, skating, knitting, painting.

19.Get creative. Creating and allowing ourselves to be artistic is a great release for our emotions. You could try a new art form or pick up an old hobby. This could be in the form of dance, music, painting, sculpting, scrapbooking, writing, sewing, anything!

20. Allow yourself to see the lighter side of life. It is a very strange time right now and it's important to try and remain light. Try and keep yourself in this mind space by following cute animal feeds, watching funny videos on Tiktok, or watching some comedy on Netflix.

21. Ask for help. Don't feel like your normal support isn't there anymore, because they are. (at a distance but not emotionally!). Don't forget to take your medication, and keep up your self-care. Seek out support groups on Facebook, or support within your community/neighbourhood to stay connected. There is always support for you, even if we can't be with each other physically. I like to refer to poor mental health using a "monster" analogy. If you don't take your medication, feed yourself, drink water, bathe, essentially be kind to ourselves, the monster starts to grow within our minds. We need to look after ourselves so the monster doesn't get stronger.

22. Take this one step at a time. We don't know how long this situation is going to last, so it's impossible to have a roadmap or a plan. Focus on what you can see, take it day by day week by week, or hour by hour. Whatever feels easiest for you? You are allowed to handle this your way.

23. Remember, this is temporary. It's okay to feel like it isn't or to feel lost. However, you need to remind yourself that this situation is temporary.

24. Try and adjust your perspective. This situation is unavoidable for now. Why not try and utilize this situation to reflect on our lives. What is our lives would we like to change? What do we have the power to change within our lives? You could use this time to start mapping out change.