As we are adapting to the new way of living that COVID-19 has brought us, it’s more important now than ever to have a self-care plan in place to keep our mental and physical health levels high.
I think this strange and uncertain time could be used as a challenge to increase your mental fitness levels. You can also work with your subconscious on changing any unhelpful automated programs which are holding you back.
We can thrive and flourish when it comes to challenges like this, let your powerful mind guide you into showing you how.
My Top COVID-19 Self Care Suggestions
1. Use the power of intention to balance and boost your neurochemistry levels daily through the suggestions below and your intuition.
2. Follow my mini-mental fitness challenges on Instagram and do them daily.
3. Change your perception of COVID-19 to make this a challenge to get through. Changing perception can change your neurochemistry from fear-based to something more focused, strong, and resilient.
4. Reduce exposure to negative news, which can trigger your survival responses unnecessarily.
5. Reduce dull, automated scrolling of social media and find something more meaningful to do.
6. Create a daily ritual of activities that add value to your day.
7. Exercise and stretch daily to get an endorphin boost too.
8. Meditation, recharging, mindfulness, and rest are completely priceless in managing stress, especially when it comes to COVID- 19. Turn off your survival stress response as often as you can to recharge. My podcast is free and has the exercises you need to keep mentally fit. Subscribe and share!
I would recommend doing two sessions daily of around 10 minutes of total reset, recharge, and refresh for your body and mind. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening would be invaluable as it will help to increase healthy energy and resilience levels. These activities also reduce and turn off an overactive Limbic System. (the survival and emotional parts of the brain).
Recommended Resources include:
Mindset Podcast on my website, Spotify and iTunes.
There are plenty of free resources besides mine online too for you to explore, but making this a ritual and routine, so it becomes a natural habit that could help you.
9. CBT is also a great skill to use when it comes to changing unhelpful, intrusive negative thought patterns, and learning thought management.
10. Eat more healthy foods where you can as over 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut, with over 50% of your dopamine. Increasing gut health can lead to a much healthier mind.
11. Hydration is vital for a healthy mind and body, and it’s one of the easiest habits to change.
12. Regularly connect to people using any app, phone, online system as possible. Human connection is everything to us, and we can struggle without it.
13. Ensure you have a regular sleep pattern and the right level of sleep hygiene.
14. SAD Sun Lamp. If you struggle with anxiety, stress, depression, cannot get outside much, or want a serotonin boost at your desk, a SAD Lamp would be worth considering. Get the maximum effect by using it first thing in the morning.
You can read about their effectiveness here.
A highly recommended lamp from some internet research can be found here.
15. Recommended Supplements for Anxiety, Stress, and Depression.
Magnesium
Vitamin D
Vitamin B complex
Omega 3
Iron
Zinc
Chromium
Selenium
5HTP
While I get most of the above from a varied diet, I do use some supplements to help keep my nervous system from struggling too much. These are the supplements that from research have the most significant impact on nervous system health.
I am not a medical physician; please seek medical advice when it comes to changing diet or using supplements.
If you think your food lifestyle is a little beige and lacking in decent nutrition, then make sure you have a multi-vitamin like this one to take some pressure off your nervous system.
16. Probiotics, I take a probiotic like this one now and then. This one contains the six strains of gut bacteria, which have the most significant effect on anxiety and the nervous system and increases gut health.
17. Practice being kind, compassionate and caring towards yourself and others for healthier connections and a wonderful neurochemistry boost.
It’s a testing time for us all, and we all have to take better care of ourselves right now so we can, in turn, help others around us. There are some amazing stories of courage, hope, community, and support coming through, and these are incredibly inspiring, and being involved in helping others can bring out the best in us.
Keep in contact, and if there are any suggestions for content here, on social media, or my podcasts, let me know.
