As someone that spends most of my time at home due to health reasons, it has become my time to share my expertise on how to help combat a few things that staying at home entails. From boredom, loneliness, how to spend your time and the most important thing is tips on self-care to keep your brain and body healthy.
Unplug those headphones
It’s easy to want to drown out everything that is happening in the world by wacking on some headphones, get in your own little bubble and escape through listening to music, Netflix, live streams or even working from home. Short bursts of this can be great to just escape for an hour. Being in this bubble type state for longer periods of time without external stimuli makes it very easy for the loneliness and boredom to set in. Unplug those headphones, fill the room with music and move around, get your blood moving to release some feel-good hormones. Expand the space that you are sat in, not moving much from one spot, like in front of your computer, will give you more of a trapped feeling, expand, move and switch up where you do things.
Background noise is very important to combat loneliness, chuck on a stream, the film channel or the radio, you don’t have to pay attention to it or have it on very loud but it helps fill the room with something other than silence and makes everything seem not so lonely.
Pretend you’re a house plant…
Now I don’t mean sit in a tub of dirt, well you can, I’m not judging but don’t forget water; drink plenty, have a shower and get into some fresh loungewear. Sunlight is important too, its a rare occurrence in the UK but try to get outdoors for at least 10 mins (away from any contact), grab a cuppa, get off your phone, breathe in some fresh air and listen to the birds.
Getting off your phone,pc or any technology is very important. You might think that being on the news and Twitter all the time to keep updated is a good thing, you think if you know what’s happening you have more control (this is something I’m guilty of) but it just heightens anxiety. Spending time away to recuperate your thoughts and your anxiety will be better in the long run. Things will not suddenly change so allow yourself to breathe.
With the mention of fresh air, chuck on a jumper and open your windows, get some fresh air circulating your space. A space can get quite stagnant, causing your mood to drop and can make you feel trapped, opening up can enlighten your mood and revitalise your energy levels.
You don’t have to use this time to try and create something great
You don’t have to write the next bestseller, create the next big thing, get fit or master a new skill, the pressure to do great and use all your time to be productive will make you burn out. Sit back, take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, you got this, don’t forget to have breaks and have downtime just to chill.
Try something new for fun
You might not be great when you first start something new but use the time to try, experiment and have fun. Invent a recipe, bake that cake you fancy or pick up a paintbrush and get creative. You don’t have to try and master something, be creative and allow yourself to be bad or good at something. Don’t take everything you try seriously, have fun, it feels good and gives you that space to get out any emotion you’re feeling.
Move
Get up, stretch, have a mini dance break, walk to get some water or a cup of tea, move around to get that blood pumping like it should. You need breaks more than you think, setting a timer to make sure you change up what you’re doing. You don’t want to burn out from what you are doing, even if you’re enjoying it at the time.
Try and form a new routine
Schedule things daily like your work schedule, what you are going to cook and the times you want to eat or shower. Setting time aside to read the book you haven’t picked up in a while or schedule an online movie night with friends or family. Do things that you have control over, it allows you to remember there are things that you have power and control over away from the outside world.
Reach out
Talk and video chat with people online, play games together like skribbl.io or golf with friends, catch up on films and series together by watching with Netflix party, kast, parsec or discord. Make new friends, join an online book club, facetime people, remember you are not alone.
To put it in short, move, eat, get fresh air, take time away from the internet and allow yourself to feel emotions, reach out to friends if you need to, try not to fret over what you can not control and take every day as it comes. We are all in this together and we will get through it.
Devon