Quietening the Fear, Embracing the Quiet.

I haven’t written a blog post in a while, but seeing as I have a lot of time on my hands right now it seemed a good chance to go for it.

Let’s address the obvious. Coronavirus has rocked everybody's world. It’s frustrating, complicated, confusing, overwhelming and scary for a lot of people. People have been affected financially and sadly for the people who have contracted the virus, they are struggling with their health.

I had a big panic, not necessarily worried about getting it myself. But about the implications for my business, my future aspirations, and the health and circumstances of my family and friends.

But after a day or two of anxiety and stress, they weren’t pretty trust me. I came out of it with a slightly more level-headed approach. Panicking and stressing out will not help me at all. It won’t help my business, my mental health or help those around me. Yes, there is a lot to be worried and concerned about for the long and short term.

But you cannot control what you can’t control.

Say that again to yourself.

This is a worldwide pandemic. You are one human being.

However, we can control our daily actions and try to remind others to do so responsibly. We have the choice to choose what we focus our attention on.

We’re often asking for more than 24 hours in the day to do the things we want to. Now if like me, your work and daily routine has quietened down a lot, we’ve kind of been handed this on a plate with a lot more unplanned unstructured time on our hands. If you’ve gone from working full-time, commuting, organizing the school drop off and running around at 100mph. This increased amount of ‘quiet’ time can be overwhelming as you find yourself with your thoughts.

Even with all the uncertainty in the world, we can choose to use the extra time we have to our advantage. To focus on the basics to keeping our body and minds healthy, content and sane during this time. To let our body’s slow down if you normally have a highly-charged pace of life. The things that our body’s normally appreciate are as important now as they would be back in our old ‘normal’ days. We also have the opportunity to try something new (as long as it’s indoors) or do tasks we’ve been putting off for a while (that shelving unit isn’t going to fix itself).

So here are a few of my suggestions of things you can focus on while we spend more time in the comfort of our own homes:

- SLEEP: Always top of the list in my book. Aiming for 7-8hours of good quality sleep has numerous benefits to your physical, mental and emotional health.

- FOOD: A lot of us now have the time to actually cook! If you enjoy cooking, maybe try a few new recipes with all the random items you picked up while stock-piling. Keep aiming to eat 5-7 portions of Fruit and Vegetables, and good quality sources of protein, grains and fats. And maybe a loaf of banana bread while you’re at it!

- MOVEMENT: We’re no longer moving as much. Whether that was normallywalking to the bus stop, to work or to your yoga class. I really recommend using that one hour of Outdoor time to go for a walk/run/cycle, whilst obviously being mindful of social distancing. The government guidelines for exercise recommend we should aim for at least 150 mins of moderate aerobic activity or 75 mins of intense vigorous activity per week. How you choose to implement that can be upto you. There are now so many online yoga, fitness and dance classes on Instagram/Zoom etc for you to join in. Find and support your local of favourite teachers and studios during this time and stay connected to that community of people who are all in this together. For more details of general exercise check out https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/

- TALK TO PEOPLE: Whether you are isolating with your family, friends or especially if you are living by yourself. Stay connected to your community and loved ones. Social interaction is very important to talk about the big issues you’re going through and also the silly day to day stuff. Emails, Facetime, Virtual Pub nights, Phone calls… Make an effort to check on people more regularly.

Then there are other things or new hobbies you could try such as gardening, learning a new language, updating or clearing out your wardrobe and also DOING NOTHING. Give yourself some time to rest and chill out. I’m all for being productive and having a routine. But it’s ok to just to open and close your fridge door until you realise what you want to eat, or sit and watch Netflix.

Stop. Breathe. Unclench your jaw. Relax your shoulders. It’s going to be ok.

Sending love to you and all your loved ones during this time.

Stay safe. Be kinds. And stay indoors.

Eilidh x