Maintaining the ‘Calm’ at Home amid COVID-19!
Schools are closing, people are self-isolating, supermarket shelves are no longer fully stocked and most people are now working from home. The world around us is changing rapidly and there isn’t a great deal any of us can do about it but listen to Government officials and stay at home as much as we can.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This change has seen a steady increase in people’s stress levels and anxiety, that in turn has a consequential effect on people’s lives in the home and on their families. There are several tips and tricks that you can implement to both keep the ‘calm’ in the house, and keep your own personal ‘calm’ in your mind. The importance of this is huge and you will see it in the mental health and stability of your children.
- Stick to a routine – Whilst you may have lost your job, had your hours cut, or are transitioning into a ‘homeschooling’ environment, creating a routine is imperative not only for yourselves, but for your children too. Humans are creatures of habit and we thrive off of structure in our daily lives.
- Try ‘mindfulness’ – There are many great mobile apps out there to guide you through mindfulness activities. Meditation is a great way to calm the mind and the body, reduce stress, improve focus and allow you to find the ‘calm’ within yourselves. See this list of great apps for you to try!
- Maintain connections with loved ones – With social distancing now the new norm, we are forced to be a little more creative in how we ‘connect’ with others. Whilst we no longer have the luxury of human touch and close interaction, we still have the luxury of using our phones, or better yet – the endless range of video conferencing apps at our disposal that allow us to see, talk and engage with others. WhatsApp, Facetime, Facebook Messenger, Skype and Zoom are just some of the many options available to us all. Skype and Zoom allow for several people to be conferenced in together, enabling ‘online’ family gatherings!
- Restrict media consumption – It’s important that we all stay updated on what’s going on in Australia and the wider world around us, however we need to limit our media consumption to stay sane and not become completely consumed by it. Decide on your limits and stick to them. If it’s enough to watch the 6pm news once daily, make a concerted effort to integrate that into your daily schedule and limit it to just that.
- Educate your children on the importance of a community – Through times like these, we are forced to recognise the importance of our community. This is something we often take for granted and through challenging times we realise just how important it really is. A community offers support, love, empowerment, inspiration, social interaction, positive mental health, and much more! Your kids need to understand this, it is something that will serve them greatly for the rest of their lives.
- Take the positives out of the situation – It’s hard to see the positives in all the current doom and gloom however, there is so much to learn from and have appreciation for.
- Kindness of others.
- Community spirit – take note of Italy and the daily ritual of singing from their balconies.
- A newfound understanding of what’s really important in life and what is worthy of our energy.
- Pollution – globally, levels of pollution are at an all time low! Burning fossil fuels has dropped and air quality has improved significantly. Wildlife has even returned to the Venice canals, a site unseen for many years.
We are all in this together and we will win this fight against Coronavirus. Whilst it may take some time, we will get there eventually. With confinement to home life being our new reality, we need to focus on what we can do in the home to stay sane and maintain the ‘calm’. We hope that this article will help you to better understand the important role that you play in keeping the calm in your home and the positive effect this will have on your family and their wellbeing.
Stay safe and stay positive!