Bula readers! After a positive response to last week’s article on Coping With Lockdowns I thought to close this chapter with five more handy tips, to help you cope with this new lifestyle change.
To recap, here are last week’s five tips below:
1. The power of prayer – never underestimate the feeling of peace and contentment through prayer or even meditation;
2. Keeping a routine – it is important to keep a routine during this time of containment where you have a daily schedule to keep you focused and occupied;
3. Keeping calm – this is a must during lockdown as one word said in anger can lead to a full scale argument, so be calm and watch your words;
4. Positivity – it is very important to keep a positive and healthy mind as a strong mind and positive attitude will help get you through these difficult times; and
5. Exercise – this might be quite difficult as we are requested to stay indoors as much as possible, but even pacing up and down your room will be enough.
This week, I will add another five simple examples of how you can cope indoors during the lockdown period.
6. Healthy eating – like exercise, when our routine is disrupted or we get stressed, eating habits can deteriorate. Try and eat regular meals. Avoid too much snacking, or if you do, try to choose healthy snacks like nuts or fruit. Use it as an opportunity to get adventurous with cooking, and learn some new cooking skills. If you have older children at home, maybe introduce them to cooking as a life-skill and make them understand the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables as opposed to processed noodles and fast food.
7. Stay connected – we are fortunate to live in an age where there is a huge number of ways to keep connected. Just because you are in isolation doesn’t mean you can’t keep in contact via telephone or video call. Many methods offer group chat calls so you can get the extended family all together, or your children can keep in contact with their friends. Even texting and messaging is a good way to keep in contact and share fellowship with your loved ones.
8. Come to terms with the new normal – Acceptance isn’t about giving up or being defeated, it’s more about a willingness to experience a situation as it is and be OK with the uncertainty of the situation. There are going to be days when you’re going to feel anxious and that’s perfectly fine. Anything new or a change in routine can be difficult, but we can try and embrace the change.
9. Seek help if you need it – Seeking appropriate levels of support can be beneficial for you, if the situation is getting really difficult, it’s important not to struggle alone. I do realise that in Fiji the Government support services for domestic violence, suicide prevention, mental health issues, etc., are limited, but there are various NGO helplines that can also help fill this void and provide a certain level of support.
10. Make a list – Because our sense of time during the pandemic is distorted, and certainly seems longer, one thing that can help us is a to do list. This can make us feel that we’re accomplishing something and also ease the disappointment of looking at a blank calendar during the lockdown period, feeling that we haven’t achieved anything.
I do realise it is not easy during this time, especially with the added pressure of financial difficulties, shortage of food, water cuts, electricity blackouts and the list goes on, but with a cool head and a positive mind we can all get through this, one day at a time.
Once again, stay safe, adhere to the health rules and regulations and be careful during this time.
Take care and God bless.
- Ajay Bhai Amrit is a freelance writer. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily shared by this newspaper.
