Now that the PM has announced a state of National Emergency we are now being forced to self-isolate and exercise social distance  - to not socialise, not go to work, not send our kids to school, not travel, not go outside unless absolutely necessary. It is unprecedented, it is the unknown and it is scary. We don’t know how long for or how many of the people we love will be affected or even lose their lives.

With all this uncertainty we are unable to meet our basic human needs, one of which is certainty itself. We need to know we have security, job security, financial security to know we are loved. We also like familiarity it’s why we like routine and habits are so hard to break. Nothing about this situation is familiar.  As anxiety and fear grip the nation, it is more important than ever to manage our mindset and find new ways to meet our needs.

Despite the chaos and uncertainty around us, we still have a choice. We can choose to be at the mercy of our environment and our feels or we can choose to take control of our thoughts and make the best of a bad situation.

Now more than ever we need to choose option two. If for no other reason than anxiety has a massively detrimental effect on our immune system, something we really can’t afford right now.

Below are my top 5 tips for managing your mindset and boosting immunity

1. Excercise. Pumps blood to the brain not only improves our intellectual performance enabling us to process information faster and our reactions it allows us to think rationally. Not only that but it boosts our fitness and our immunity all whilst releasing those feel-good hormones that motivate us. Seriously it is a triple win, why wouldn’t you?
2. Sleep. 7- 8 hours sleep is optimal for the best brain performance and again boosts your immune system which is our best line of defence against this virus!
3. Hydrate. Water and a balanced diet are vital in producing and maintaining healthy cells which fight disease. This is our best line of defence and we need to take care of it.
4. Mindfulness. Meditation, yoga, Tai Chi whatever your flavour take time out of your day to quieten your mind and take care of yours thoughts. Everything starts with a thought. Thoughts control our feelings, feelings dictate our actions - actions dictate our outcomes. Now more than ever we need to be on top of our mind management and stay in a focused positive mindset.
5. Make the most of the time. On any given day we complain about lack of time. We have no time for ourselves, for our family. Now we do so make the most of it! Use it to your advantage read those books that have been piling up. Catch up on home improvements, passion projects or an online course. Whatever it is you have wanted to do and never made the time for.
   

I hope you have found this helpful if you have any questions or would like help on managing your mental state during this time please get in touch.

We will get through this together!