By Jeremy Kenton
As an osteopath in clinical practice for over 40 years part of my daily routine with patients is to reduce anxiety. That anxiety can be from pain or very much the case now the stress caused by self isolation.
This is obviously worse for those of you who are on your own or for those of you who have a history of anxiety and stress.
There is a chemical physiological reason for what is happening when you’re anxious and that is a raise in the level of cortisol, a hormone which creates stress. But cortisol levels can be helped by a number of methods. The simplest method is breathing and in the following video, I will show you a simple breathing technique which may help you. This can be used during the day or in the evening just before you go to bed and even if you wake during the night because of your level of anxiety.
Remember to eat well and also to exercise during this period of self confinement. There are a number of people doing live videos exercise classes on social media and it’s a good idea to involve yourself in that way.
It’s very important to distract yourself during the day and don’t feel guilty about watching a series on Netflix or even digging out those old CDs and DVDs listening to music or even sorting out all those old photographs which you’ve accumulated over the years.
Try to avoid the news and only watch it once or twice a day to avoid making yourself feel even more anxious.
Establish a routine and don’t fall into the trap of sitting around in your dressing gown all day. Getting up, take a shower, get dressed and involve yourself in any kind of activity that will distract yourself.
Do some thing that will self-absorb you, read a book or even write a book. Learn to play musical instrument, learn to paint.
You can still interact with old friends or even make new friends even if it means shouting from one balcony to another but try to avoid the major points of discussion regarding sad news about coronavirus self isolation
Think positively as we all know in a few weeks this will all be over and we can try and get back to some degree of normality. Stop fearing the worst.
Money stress is obviously something we are all concerned about but once we are locked away there is a little we can do about it. You can make plans regarding mortgage or rent payments and utility bills with the providers. When you contact them, on the whole, they are sympathetic because they are in the same position as you. So to summarise;
- Establish a routine
- Distract yourself
- Eat regularly and well
- Exercise
- Use breathing exercises
- Speak to your farmacia or doctor for medication if you really cannot cope
- Talk to your friends or neighbours
- Avoid the news
- Learn a skill, paint, draw, an instrument or even learn Spanish.
- Self absorb yourself in an activity. You will be amazed how quickly the time will vanish.
- Watch happy films.
- Read or even write a story
- Stay positive
Keep smiling, keep safe and stay happy.
