“Hi everyone . My name is Dr Jenna Kirtley. I am a  Qualified Clinical Psychologist (& JoJo’s sister!) JoJo has asked me to offer some advice connected to the five ways and how you can give to yourself.

This is an extremely anxiety provoking time for us all and is understandably going to impact on our mood and general wellbeing. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on how we can look after our mental health and wellbeing during this time of isolation

1. Stay connected – we may have to stay at home but this doesn’t mean we can’t stay emotionally connected to the people we care about via telephone, social media and other virtual means such as skype, house party or zoom. This can be one to one with your friend, a family get together or a party with a group of friends.
2. Reach out to those you haven’t spoken to in a while. This is a good opportunity to re-connect.
3. Listen more – this is a time to engage in meaningful conversations and to listen deeply to each other.
4. Engage in solo activities you enjoy i.e. reading, writing, singing, dancing, crosswords, scrapbooking, painting, watching Netflix series or a movie, gardening, baking or cooking.
5. If you are isolating with family think about what activities you can do together such as playing games, taking a walk outside, gardening, crafts, movie nights, cooking a meal together.
6. Recognise what your values are and set some goals within these values. For example, if you value friendship what can you do right now to live within this value? This may be to call your friend or send them a gift or make them a photo album. If what is important to you is nature then ensure you have your daily walk or spend some time in your garden. Find ways that you can still focus on what is important to you just adapt it to the current situation.
7. Online pub quiz, bingo, karaoke, live music or comedy shows. Keep an eye out for all of these events being offered online.
8. Be active – dance around your living room, get the Wii out, put an exercise dvd on or even try some of the free workouts people are setting up online. You could also go out once a day for a walk, jog or cycle.
9. Move more throughout the day too – maybe 250 steps an hour- you could even challenge each other to see who can do the most steps in one day!
10. Helping others – what can you do to help others? Could you send a friend a kind text? Could you offer to cook a meal for a neighbour? Could you drop some essentials off at a family members home? Could you say hello to a stranger on your daily walk? This is a time for us all to come together as a community and support each other any way we can.
11. Take notice – listen to the birds, look out of the window at the sunshine, admire the daffodils. This is a time to pay attention and appreciate.
12. Learn – this is an opportunity to take up a new hobby or learn something new such as a language, a musical instrument, painting. There are many you tube videos and free apps available to support you with your learning.
13. Relax – put some candles on, have a nice bath, do some meditation, watch some tv, have an extra hour in bed. This is a time to focus on self-soothing and calmness.
14. Focus on what is in your control in the here and now, rather than what is not in your control. Although it is natural to worry about what will happen in the future it will only make you feel more anxious or hopeless. Anything from staying at home and washing hands regularly, to fitness, fun activities, supporting others and learning are all within your control.
15. Acknowledge thoughts and feelings and then let them go – focusing attention on the present moment. One way to do this is to imagine putting each thought on a leaf and watch it float down the stream.
16. Alternatively, you can consider some alternative thoughts to counteract negative or anxious thoughts, such as “this will not be forever” and “you can get through this as you have got through so much worse in the past.”
17. Engage in some Mindfulness breathing or using your senses notice what you can see, hear, touch, smell and taste to allow yourself to be grounded to the present moment.
18. Recognise difficult feelings and be kind to yourself – what do you need right now? It is important to focus on thinking and behaving in a caring and kind way towards yourself (and others).
19. Take a break from social media and/or watching the news. Yes, we need to stay updated but spending half of the day reading about the corona virus is draining.
20. If you are working from home still get up at a reasonable hour, shower and get dressed. This will maintain a routine and keep you motivated.
21. Eat and sleep well. It can be so easy to sleep and eat more due to boredom or difficult emotions but over eating and sleeping will not help your mental health and wellbeing. Try and keep a balanced diet and sleep 6-8 hours.
22. Declutter, DIY or spring clean – this is a perfect opportunity to sort through your house, shed or garage and can be a helpful distraction.
23. Write a list of what you want to achieve or do once you are out of isolation, for example take a trip to the lakes, start a new exercise class, go to that new restaurant in town.

It isn’t about staying positive all of the time as this isn’t possible. It is normal to feel physically and emotionally affected by the situation. Therefore, acknowledge that it is normal and focus on what you can do right now to maintain a healthy body and mind, including a routine, fitness, relaxing, connecting, helping others and any creative or fun activities you can engage in whilst remaining at home. Most importantly be kind to yourself and each other.

I wish you all well and I hope these tips have been helpful.

These are some useful links that I am sharing with my clients during this time.

https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Self-Compassion

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/mindfulness.htm