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The Post-Lockdown Roadmap & Your Wellbeing

Recently we have been seeing glints of hope for a return to a new normal later this year, and while this announcement is greatly welcomed it will always be met with many different reactions. Desperate to get out again? Missing interacting with friends, your classmates and family? It’s great news we’ll be back together soon isn’t it!

Feeling anxious, overwhelmed and a bit fearful?

Absolutely valid and normal too! I find myself drifting between the two states - very rarely landing in a rational middle ground. What's important to bear in mind is that you can take the easing of lockdown at your own pace in ways that protect you. It doesn’t matter if your friends or family are adapting, quicker and easier, it’s all about looking after yourself. Everyone has mental health and looking after your own has never been so important. The last 12 months have led to drastic changes in our everyday routine - whether this was a breeze for you, or a tiresome effort, the uncertainty of what was to come next affected everybody physically and mentally. To what extent is not relevant, someone who struggles daily is just as valid in their emotions with someone who has had an odd blip every few months for instance. Remember mental health is a continuously fluctuating state and no two minds are the same. So let’s discuss the ways you can improve your own mental and physical wellbeing; whilst supporting your nearest and dearest also.

The Big 3 Basic Needs

Sleep

The benefits of sleep are impressive. It varies from person to person though on average you need 8 hours per night for healthy bodily functions. Lack of sleep affects your mood and physical health as you have no time to recharge. Sleep is required to boost our immune system functions and lack of sleep can even contribute to weight gain as your body produces less of the chemical that makes you feel full. Diet

Diet is essential to your physical and mental wellbeing. The best way to view your body is as a vehicle to get through your days so you need to fuel it right for effective function. A healthy, balanced diet contributes to maintaining good health while making you feel good. You want to be eating the correct portion sizes of a variety of foods to maintain a healthy weight. And don't forget to keep hydrated too, 8 glasses of water a day. Exercise

Exercise reduces your risk of major illnesses whilst keeping your body in a healthy condition, People aged 18+ should try to be active every day and aim to achieve at least 150 minutes of activity per week. People aged 5-18 are recommended to aim for an average of at least 60 minutes of an moderate intensity physical activity a day across the week. Though best of all it's a quick mood boost for you.

I spoke to the Halton Health Improvement team to see what they suggested for general Health and Wellbeing in young people. The team specialises in working with schools, colleges, and public venues to run campaigns bringing awareness of the support we can do to look after ourselves and others. They work closely with the age range of specific campaigns which means your voice is heard and the support is tailored to your peers needs that you have identified.

The 5 Ways to Wellbeing Be in the present

Connect with Friends & Family Trying/Learning different things Be Active Give Something Back

A great way to track your thoughts and feelings is through journaling. Write whatever you like whenever you like but daily practice has the most effective results. There are many video tutorials on Youtube about practicing Mindfullness. It's all about staying present and focused on the here and now, letting go of the past and not worrying about the future. Connecting with loved ones builds a greater sense of self worth whilst providing emotional support to you and for you to do the same with others. Provides you with a sense of purpose. Can boost your confidence and self esteem. I challenged myself to learn new recipes each week and I really have become a decent cook! Opportunity for you to set goals to achieve helping with self worth. Being active also causes chemical changes in your brain which can help to positively impact your mood. It's been proven that acts of giving and kindness can help improve your mentalwellbeing as doing good creates positive feelings and a sense of reward. It also adds to the sense of purpose and of self worth. Depending on what you do it can also provide the opportunity to connect. If you want to try any of the 5 Ways to Wellbeing there is plenty of advice online including the NHS Website for activity suggestions and the Do's & Dont's of Wellbeing (which is super useful speaking from experience!)

Halton Health Improvement run Fit For Life, Bite Size Sessions exploring the different ways you can help support young people. Upcoming sessions starting in April include: - SLEEP AND SCREENS - FUSSY EATING AND SNACKING - MENTAL HEALTH AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING For more information:

Call- 03000290029

Visit- www.haltonhealthimprovement.co.uk OR TO BOOK A PLACE

Email- HIT@halton.gov.uk

For Parents & Guardians

And while you're here:

Everything I've said so far are the very basic starting points for you to begin taking care of your mental and physical wellbeing. There is so much more you can implement once you've laid the foundations of self care and have created routines that include the 5 Ways to Wellbeing as well as the Three Basic Needs for yourself. Creating new habits takes time so be kind, be gentle and be patient you will get there but it won't happen overnight I'm afraid. You've got this!

The importance of listening!

A lot of the time, if someone is venting to you or opening up, just because what they say isn't positive it does not mean they are looking for a response. Solutions whether that's from yourself, a doctor or a professional are not always the answer, the person is simply looking to be heard. Sometimes that doesn't feel active enough, though the best thing you can do for anyone who approaches you is to contain them. Be present with them in their feelings and don't comfort as you may be accidentally dismissing or downplaying their emotions. Acknowledge that you're listening and gently help them navigate through their thoughts where possible

Your weight does not define you! I can only go off my own social media algorithms here, but not even within 24 hours of the roadmap out of lockdown being announced, my feeds were flooded with weight-loss tips specifically targeted at women. I want to say that after almost a year of lockdowns, your friends, family and loved ones are going to be more focused on being able to hold you, and spend time with you rather than your appearance. Please watch you say to people. Data has shown eating disorders increased drastically in lockdown. Treat people with kindness and continue to uplift people without the focus of being on their physical appearance. It's okay if they don't understand. Mental Health use to be a very taboo topic and previous generations were not supported or taught about how to take care of their own mental and physical wellbeing as well as we have. You have to understand that any contradicting/ conflicting advice from those older than you, may not be correct unless they keep tabs on current conversations around self care and support; otherwise they will not be able to align their viewpoints to those who are more in the know. Understand where their views are coming from: Generational issues from their upbringing, structural societal issues or even time constraints if this person is in a profession with multiple responsibilities though are around young people constantly i.e. teachers.

There's no shame in seeking external support. If you've tried seeking support from those closest to you and you think professional help would benefit you, do what's best for you! There is nothing wrong with going to therapy, there is nothing wrong with taking medication, there is nothing wrong with seeking the support you need in order to feel your best self!

THINK NINJA Designed for 10-18 year olds Think Ninja is a great place to start to educate yourself about mental health and emotional wellbeing. Through a variety of content and tools within the app you develop skills used to build mental resilience and stay well.

CALM HARM Calm Harm provides tasks to help you resist or manage the urge to self-harm. They see the desire to harm yourself as wave and their exercises are designed to help manage riding out those urges,

SILVER CLOUD SilverCloud is an eight week online course which helps you manage stress, anxiety and depression. Based on your specific needs, a therapist will provide you a series of topics to work through. You can complete the course at your own pace which is why I'm a big fan of the app, there is no time constraint placed on you or number of sessions to work through so there is less pressure to be feeling better.

SMILING MIND This app was created to help practice your daily meditation and mindfulness exercises from any device for a suggested 10 minutes a day. It's a great place to start developing skills required for mindfulness. Ground yourself in reality! All your anxieties around the pandemic and around post-lockdown life are valid. You are not the only one feeling this way. Social Media can either make you feel like you're alone in your ways of thinking, or adversely, that everyone is in a state of dismay. If you find yourself too reliant, or equally too disturbed by what's appearing on your feeds, consider a social media detox. Reducing your screen time will do wonders for you and bring you back into your thoughts to learn to handle them better.

If you'd like me to expand on anything in this article, or you would like to hear more about Mental & Physical Wellbeing, Feminism or Sustainability then please email me at - in.raeality@gmail.com You can also see similar bitesize content on my Instagram - @in.raeality

Recommended Apps:

Ok I know I've just said to reduce your screen time though we are becoming increasingly more reliant on our smart-device use and even I use my phone to get through the tough days. Did you know there are apps designed to help with specific needs? Here are some NHS recommended apps that may be really useful to you.