Managing Stress in Lockdown

The Covid Crisis and months of restrictions have been taking their toll on everyone, especially here in Victoria. Many are struggling with crippling anxiety, depression and dread from the endless uncertainty.

Sadly recent announcements do nothing to quell that. My friend, client, and accomplished psychologist Renee Dela Cruz @the.mind.spot, and I have teamed up to deliver a series of short, practical tips to help you put the stress on pause.

These tips will allow you to free your mind, feel and function a little better. Please feel free to give them a go and give us feedback. Not all of them will be ideal for you, but they may work for someone you care about, so feel free to share.

The full 7 days of tips are featured below.

Managing Stress in Lockdown E1: Mindful Eating

So many of us are struggling with the mental health aspects of lockdown here in Victoria. Psychologist Renee Dela Cruz and I have teamed up to deliver a series of quick, practical tips to help get you out of that stressed state when it arises and alleviate a little of that anxiety. Anyone can do them, not all of them may be for you, but if you know someone who could benefit please share. Today’s tip deals with Mindful Eating, an especially handy tool for those who emotionally eat or suffer gastrointestinal issues related to stress and anxiety.

Managing Stress in Lockdown E2: Fist & Blow

In today’s episode Renee Dela Cruz @the.mind.spot, and I discuss another mindful activity, the fist & blow, which people of any age could use as a tactic to pause their stress.

Managing Stress in Lockdown E3: Coloured System

Our imaginations are a funny thing. They can lead to brilliant creative endeavours and on the other hand they can lead us to despair if we focus on the kind of wrong things. In today’s mindful tip, Renee introduced the coloured system, a great approach to using our imagination to take us out of a stressed state. This tip in particular would be a great exercise to use for children as it is easily accessible to all people.

Managing Stress in Lockdown E4: Aspirations

The mind is a powerful tool. It reflects what you feed it with. Feed it messages of doom and gloom and it will respond accordingly. Feed it positive messaging and your thoughts and actions with follow. Today’s tip from @the.mind.spot talks about this.

Managing Stress in Lockdown e5: Physical touch (hugs)

Human touch, one of the things many people are missing during this prolonged lockdown period. Something as simple as a hug can do a lot to calm down your central nervous system and bring you out of a stressed state. Today’s tip from @the.mind.spot tackles just this, and how you can even be alone in isolation to experience the benefits.

Managing Stress in Lockdown E6: S.T.O.P

In today’s episode @the.mind.spot and I discuss a more traditional approach to mindfulness, S.T.O.P. This approach involves you stopping, taking stock, observing and exploring the possibilities. Give it a go or share with someone who may benefit.

Managing Stress in Lockdown E7: Everyday tasks

A little bit of stress is necessary, chronic, all encompassing stress is not. If we can find ways to become more mindful in the everyday, we can better manage stress, and keep it at appropriate levels. So today’s tip from @the.mind.spot is a fantastic way to incorporate more awareness and focus into our daily lives, by making our everyday tasks more mindful. This is a simple way to get even the most meditation-averse of us to benefit from mindful practice. Try it on for size, and share with people you know who may benefit.