Firstly, let me be clear, this is NOT a Covid-19 survival guide. I am not Pete Evans and I am not peddling a miracle cure.
Thankfully for all of us, there are actual experts working in hospitals and emergency keeping sufferers alive during this crisis, as well as people working on a ‘cure’.
No, this is about surviving the largest side effects of this pandemic; social isolation and distancing.
Even in the hopefully likely event that some of our restrictions are to be eased in the coming week, it is still important to remember, life will still not be going back to normal as of next week. Social distancing is here to stay at least for a while.
Sadly, there is still the possibility that once lifted, stage 3 and beyond can still be re-instituted if need be.
Most frustrating of all, even if we do have eased restrictions, nearly everything and everyone you see and hear will still be talking about coronavirus for a very long time, so we won’t get to fully escape for a while yet.
But staying home can be fun and relaxing, why does this effect us soo badly?
I think if you’re reading this then you have probably noticed by now that this is not like a weekend staying at home and watching movies because you couldn’t be bothered heading out to a BBQ.
The new behaviours to which we all have to adapt are all encompassing and for most of us, do not come naturally.
“No man is an Island, entire of it self; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.” - John Donne's Devotions (1624)
Put simply, our brains are wired to connect and communicate with people and enforced separation is stressful for our neurology.
On top of this, when we DO go out into the world, there is a heightened sense of fear all around us as everyone else is stressed also.
As well, we are increasingly worried about sterilising our hands or even feeling like we should be wearing masks.
Even pleasant and socially appropriate interactions like with a person in a shop, at a cafe or running into a friend in the street are cut short or filled with furtive glances around to see if you are being noticed or about to receive a huge fine.
A lot of us are dealing with the loss of the year we thought we would have. Be it no longer going on holiday, missing a birthday, cancelled wedding plans, or even just missing a return of AFL, it all takes a toll on us.
Not to mention, most of us, at least on some level, care about what is happening to the people around us. It is not easy to hear of people being sick, dying, not being there for their friends, and it is hard to see so many people losing their jobs.
Yeah Kieran, we get it, it’s a pandemic, why does it concern a chiropractor?
While I don’t know how to manage a pandemic, I am not the person to see if you HAVE coronavirus and I am not sure how long social distancing measures will last, what I can say with certainty is this:
-Most of the issues we deal with as chiropractors are either caused, or made worse by stress.
-Understanding/managing how someone’s body approaches stress is a big part of what we do.
-Very few people’s homes appear to be set up well to be used as a full time workstation.
-Schooling your children at home does NOT fit into your regular weekdays easily.
-Living through a pandemic is TIRING.
As a result, most of the client’s I have been seeing in the last few months have had issues that would likely heal faster, potentially be less severe or even have not happened at all if they had methods to help their body respond to this crisis before their symptoms even showed up.
This is why I wanted to write down our top 7 tips for surviving a lock down.
Now I promise, unlike reading my my writing style where I tend to get wordy, the recommendations I make will not involve massive commitment on your behalf…lets face it, you probably already feel like there’s enough on your plate.
I am confident that the suggestions below have the potential to change not only the way you are feeling now, but how you pull up on the other side of this lock down period as well.
7 lock down survival tips
Recognise that it is OK to be sad/angry/frustrated at the current situation.
Even if you don’t think your concerns or issues rate highly on the scale of how disastrous your issues can be, they still can have a large effect on your life and are therefore valid reasons for you to feel bad.
To recognise that how you feel about it all is important and you need to deal with that, not just say “it could be worse”. It could be, almost always, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t being affected now.
If you feel hard done by that the things you would normally be doing to feel like you, aren’t happening at the moment, then you are allowed to be annoyed by that. Don’t carry stress around thinking that you help people by not complaining. You don’t, you just get more irritated. Recognise it’s OK to be mad and express it healthily, exercise vigorously or speak up if need be.
Exercise.
I know right? obvious and boring, but it’s more powerful than you realise and usually overlooked.
One of our clients recently told me that they have discovered that without commuting and the incidental exercise they used to do purely from working in the city in an office, they have gone from averaging 8000 steps a day to fewer than 800.
In times of stress, volume of exercise is frequently one of the first casualties. Ironically, It’s also one of our best natural stress managers and anti depressants.
Ever regretted exercise? Ever felt MORE stressed after exercise even when it was only a small amount of it? No. No one has. Our nervous system registers stress by putting us in fight or flight, or survival mode. Still living on the other side of exercise tells our brain that we have successfully overcome a stressful situation and therefore we don’t need to be in survival mode.
Take some time out.
I know what you’re thinking, easier said than done right? Where are you going to find time or space when locked in your house with your family to have some time off?
I get it, sounds like a classic “this guy doesn’t have any kids” thing to say, but I don’t mean try find 45 minutes to fully relax. We all have lives to live, work to do and/or people to look after.
What we are talking about here is finding even quick “mini breaks” throughout the day that allow you to reset for a second.
Meditation is a great way to help relieve stress (as well as lots of other benefits). If you're looking to use your self isolation time to up your meditation game we highly recommend the Oak and Smiling Mind apps. Both are free and excellent!
The Resilience Project has an app that is a daily well-being journal. This app is suitable for and has programs designed specifically for primary & secondary school students, as well as adults of all ages wanting to improve their mental well-being.
Alternatively if meditation isn’t your thing, you can replicate some of the same effects by listening to songs you find especially soothing. The research into this phenomenon used the songs ‘Strawberry swing’ by Cold play, and “Someone like you” by Adel. Feel free to mix it up, don’t be afraid to admit to yourself that ‘Only time’ by Enya is your relaxation jam.
Watch your posture.
Never underestimate the importance of posture. Just like how research has shown that trying to have confident posture has been shown to release testosterone in our body that increases our feelings of strength and confidence, the opposite is true.
There is a reason that if I ask you to do an impersonation of a stressed or anxious person you slump forward and hold your shoulders tight and up near your ears. It’s because universally, that’s what our body does under extreme or chronic stress.
This posture increases stress chemicals in our body and just happens to be replicated by sitting for long periods, especially if using a computer, a laptop, a tablet or our phones. Sound familiar during iso anyone?
Lie on a foam roller along your spine from your head to your backside with your arms at 4 and 7 o’clock. Then just LIE THERE. If you can only manage 2 minutes, that is better than none. If you’re comfortable or have time to, then 15 minutes is better again.
If you can’t get access to a longer foam roller or posture pole, then in a pinch you can roll up a few beach towels, but a roller is best.
This position has the added bonus of improving your body and spinal health by decreasing stress and strain on your body, especially you neck, head and upper back.
Improved posture can decrease headaches and risk of injury.
If you have more questions about this position, want a photo of your posture that we measure to know exactly where you are at or want more information about what improved posture can do for you, please do not hesitate to get in touch as Martin and I would both love to be there to help.
Get Adjusted.
This can also work towards your taking some time out, but do not neglect your health during this period.
Do not put up with ailments that make it even harder to get through the day. Or if there is some annoying issue that you have had for ages that you haven’t felt like you have had time to manage or keep injuring because of your daily routine, now that you’re out of your normal routine is the PERFECT time to get on top of it.
Don’t lose any momentum you had heading into this situation!
Tune out the news every now and then.
I know the temptation is to try stay up to date on every little bit of coronavirus news, but eventually it can become fatiguing. Every now and then avoid hearing about it or reading the new story on your newsfeed.
This goes hand in hand with having a time out, but I wanted to keep it separate as it is it’s own addiction to break. It doesn’t always help us to know the latest doom and gloom. It will still be there tomorrow.
Take the time you would spend on the news to have the time out I mentioned earlier.
Ask for help.
Speak up. Let people know how you are feeling. It is OK not to find this situation easy, I know I haven’t. Find someone you can have a vent to or speak to someone professional who can help you if you’re feeling like you need specific help.
It goes without saying this but obviously, check in on your friends and family. We don’t want people coming out of this in worse shape if it can be helped.
Remember that you are not alone in this. Although the lockdown and it’s effects are felt individually as all our circumstances are our own, we are all in this situation together. We will all understand where you are coming from and everyone wants to help everyone else get through it.
As always, if there is anything we can help with, the practice is here for you. We are working hard to keep up our capacity to care for our community while observing strict social distancing rules.
Please do not hesitate to contact the practice if you need our help, or if you want to find out how you can visit us and feel safe by respecting social distancing guidelines.