Break out of that stress cycle!

As the days go by, the slow drip of bad news and continued physical limitations can wear on even the strongest person. So, let’s look at ways to break out of that routine and shake things up a little.

Keep Busy
It’s very okay to cope by keeping busy. It is fine to distract yourself with movies, TV or a hobby for part of the day. Keep moving if that helps you stay positive and free from worry.

Be Active
Exercise is medicine. In addition to the benefits on your physical health – including boosting your immune system – exercise alone can be an effective treatment for mood and anxiety disorders.

Even if you’re not clinically depressed or anxious, exercise will make you happy! As little as 10 minutes of exercise a day has been shown to increase happiness.

You don’t have to train like an Olympic athlete to get the benefits of exercise. You can get the main benefit through moderate aerobic exercise like walking, gardening, dance and yoga – they are all excellent exercise. There is more and more evidence that resistance training is also great, even for older people.

Connect with Other People
Now, more than ever, make intentional choices to stay connected to family and friends. We’re social animals and we need to feel connected to other people.

Social distancing does not have to mean social disconnection. Even if you’re staying two to five metres away from other people when you’re walking down the street, you can still say “good morning.”

Make a commitment and a schedule to stay in touch with family, friends and others through phone, video, text and social media. Use COVID-19 as a reason to reach out to people who you may not have connected with for a long time. There are things that you can do with others online, including playing an online game together, listening to music, watching a concert or movie, taking a virtual tour of a museum together.

Get Outside
The research is very clear on this one. Being outside and in nature is good for your mental health.

If your local Public Health experts say it’s okay, then make an effort to go outside every day, at least for a few minutes. Sit in your backyard, or front porch or balcony, go for a walk around the block and stretch your legs. If you’re lucky enough to live near a park, go for a walk in a park. Going for a walk in the woods has the same health benefit as other meditation techniques.

Bring Yourself Back to the Now
COVID-19 has all living in an anxious future and thinking what if… what if… what if… even if basically all is well for you in the here and now.

At a time like this, it’s especially important to practice bring yourself back from the anxious future and into the now by practicing the relaxation response and meditation techniques.

Meditation techniques include simple techniques like box, paced or deep breathing, body scan and mindfulness meditation, as well as more active mediation such as progressive muscle relaxation and yoga. You don’t have to meditate or do yoga for hours a day. Bringing yourself back to the now using a simple breathing technique or a five-minute body scan twice a day can have great benefits.

Eat Well
Although we’re definitely not on vacation, lots of people have been kind of in “vacation” mode in terms of their eating for the past few weeks.

Unfortunately, we know that most people gain weight when they go on vacation for any period of time. And, stress can lead to stress eating. When we’re stressed, we tend to self-medicate with foods high in starch, sugar and fat that give us a “rush” and make us feel better in the moment.

But, like most things that make us feel better in the moment, the longer-term consequences are not great. Crashing from a junk food high can leave us feeling more and anxious and depressed.

If you’ve been stress eating and your eating has become dysregulated over the past few weeks, make a commitment to get back to something like what is normal for you. Maybe even go a step further and set a goal to eat better and healthier than ever. It will help your body cope with stress.