Social Distancing – keeping a healthy mind

Staying healthy and positive

Due to restrictions set in place by the UK Government to combat Covid-19, some of our services have gone into hibernation. Projects such as ReFit help our service users the chance to find their way to a healthy and active mind.

Whilst the services are currently not open and active, support workers have been putting together ways for the service users to practise some of the techniques they have learned – and they have also created a programme to help them with their wellness during the time of social distancing.

With that in mind, we thought it would be an idea to share some of these with you – so you can see what our service users are doing. You might even fancy taking on a few yourself to help combat the loneliness and stresses we are all going through at the moment.

Keeping fit, active and well during social distancing is not impossible. Please remember, this is a blog written based on guidelines given to our service users to help them stay positive. Here are some suggestions.

• Find a small space – around 5ft by 5ft and use this to do some stretches to warm up. Once you have loosened all muscles, find some equipment within your accommodation to move onto advanced routines. For example, if you have some empty plastic bottles you can fill these with water and use them as weights to lift as you stretch. If you’re looking for inspiration there are many videos on YouTube that help you learn good stretches to do indoors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cRmxy3tSjQ
• We all love a good dance – and one of the things I love to do is dance around when washing up. Sure, my housemate might look at me and laugh – but for me, it is a great way of unwinding and letting it all go as I dance and sing along to a combination of 80s and 90s music. Again, make sure you have enough room around you, test space by turning in circles by holding your arms out – and then put music on and just go for it. I recommend finding a suitable playlist on YouTube, or, something on the radio.
• Being fit and healthy isn’t just about being physically active. For me, one of the most important things is being able to help my mind relax and unwind after a day which may have been quite stressful. For me, I love listening to what I call ‘mind sounds’ on YouTube. There are channels with soft music, sounds of rain, the sound of trees blowing in the wind, the sea – and these give me the chance to sit back and unwind – blocking out everything else around me. When I get the chance I also like to sit back and enjoy a book – short stories, novels, or poems. This means I can take myself away from the world I am in and straight into a story that fills my mind with so much magic.
• Being creative is another way to help the mind relax. Whether you use a pen, pencil, paints, or another medium – putting your ideas down on paper can help the mind refocus. I love sketching little ideas in my book – I’ve drawn things from memory – including some of my favourite scenes from across the country. I’ve also drawn a clown – which seems odd – but it was what came to me at the time. You don’t have to spend money on any equipment; some of the best ideas have come from having a simple pen and paper.
• Finally, one close to my heart. I love writing poetry. I have written hundreds – and sure, some of them aren’t any good, but I enjoy getting words down on paper. Even if I don’t have a pen and paper handy, I can record the poem using the voice app on my phone; type them into my notes, or even straight onto a computer. I challenge myself to write 2 poems each week and I have covered many topics. Writing poetry soon extended to short stories, then it became my job and I have learned so much more about writing because of that.

I am distancing myself from people because I have asthma and if I get Coronavirus, it could knock me for six. I don’t like being at home – I love being out and about, working, meeting friends, having a laugh, going to the gym. But for my own good I will follow the advice above – and be inspired by those who are even more vulnerable than I am. We can do this.

Stay safe, stay well.

Den.

Find out more about what we do and the vulnerable people we support by clicking here.