Resilience and lockdowns
Hugh van Cuylenburg founder of The Resilience Project has shared when he's learned about lockdown and how to get through it.
We use the GEM (Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness) program from The Resilience Project in our Home Group program at school.
The program focuses on sharing positive, evidence-based mental health strategies to help people build resilience and happiness.
Below are Hugh's tips;
1. Swap expectations for hope.
In a world of snap lockdowns and slamming state borders, having expectations can be "dangerous", argued Hugh. When the future is this unpredictable, plans can become a source of anxiety and stress.
"You cannot really have expectations on anything — you can hope to do things," he said. "It's kind of like becoming a parent for the first time... you can hope to do things, but the second you expect them to happen, you're going to be disappointed."
2. Create things to look forward to.
"One of the important things you need to do right now if you're in lockdown is to plan something," Hugh said.
"When you go to bed at night, think to yourself, 'What am I looking forward to most tomorrow?' And if you can't think of anything, then organise something in that moment."
It could be a call with a friend, an hour to read your favourite book, a walk with your kids; whatever gives you a sense of anticipation.
3. Limit TV news.
In the first few weeks of Melbourne's 120-day lockdown in 2020, Hugh found himself glued to the television news for updates. He'd spend at least two hours watching every day.
And now, he'd advise against others doing the same.
"It's an incredibly negative, demoralising place to be right now, the news," he said.
"I'm not saying switch off completely. But maybe you need to know how many cases are out that day, maybe you need to know what the restrictions are, and that's it — then turn it off."
4. Be selective about who you engage with.
We're only having conversations with a limited number of people, so choose ones that exude positivity. It can have a remarkable impact on your mood and outlook.
"I think it's a good lesson in life for all of us to hang around the people that make us feel good. But I think particularly right now," he said.
"I know some people might be locked in a house of people who are quite negative, and that does make it quite tough. But who do you know that's positive? Schedule time to chat to them."
5. Be selective about who you follow on social media.
It's little wonder that the average time people spent on social media climbed to record levels in 2020. We've been seeking connection (and distraction) like never before.
So, Hugh argued, as long as we're going to find ourselves stuck passively scrolling out feeds, we may as well curate them to our benefit. That means unfollowing any people or pages that bring out negative emotions.
"Don't spend an hour having this negative emotion coming up, because it's gonna be heightened: you'll be more jealous than usual; you'll be more angry than usual; you'll be more sensitive than usual; you'll be more easily offended than usual. We're just so on edge at the moment," he said. "So make smart decisions about saying, 'You know what? For this little bit of time — and maybe forever — I'm not gonna follow this person."
6. Do something that's good for you.
This is not another recommendation to try baking your own sourdough bread (although, go wild if that's your thing). It's about steering your life in a positive direction.
"Have something that you look back on and say, 'If it wasn't for COVID, I wouldn't have done this. And it's a really good thing.' So, for example, if it wasn't for COVID last year, if it wasn't for lockdown last year, I wouldn't have started seeing a psychologist," he said. "And seeing a psychologist is one of the best things I've ever done in my entire life."
Reference: https://www.mamamia.com.au/coping-with-lockdown-tips/?fbclid=IwAR17_TKfyOqW3Unyvo7ARbGeXhQtuKRi2-kEyfNGgOtraP6TRMp9QBmTGiY