In the spirit of openness, we want to talk about this being mental health awareness week.
Particularly now, while we’re all experiencing the pressure and restrictions of Lockdown and the Covid 19 pandemic, we’re keen to emphasise it’s good to talk. And most importantly, our message is a clear one; it’s really okay not to feel okay right now. Many of us are in the same position.
Clearly, Lockdown has a massive effect on our lives. It’s taking our jobs, it’s changing our habits, and has put us inside a bubble, creating distance between friends and families, spreading fear and stress. Especially for hairdressers, this is a rough time and if you are feeling overwhelmed, we get it. But, you are not alone. It’s important to understand that the majority of people are in a similar position and it’s essential to believe, that this is a temporary situation – it won’t last forever.
Taking care of your mind as well as your body is crucial while staying at home because of coronavirus (COVID-19).You may feel bored, frustrated or lonely, low, worried or anxious, concerned about your finances, your health or those close to you.
It’s important to remember, these feelings will pass. Staying at home may be difficult, but you are helping to protect yourself and others by doing it.
Tips and ideas
Have a look at these tips and ideas on how to improve your mood and help you take back control. And make sure you get further support if you feel you need it.
- Information is power: Are you really up to speed with your employment and benefits rights? If you’ve avoided it until now, get informed about everything you need to know, whatever your status. There is lots of help out there.
- Are you organised practically? Many delivery services and suppliers are now back online and it’s much easier to get things delivered whether Amazon or Deliveroo. You don’t have to give up every little luxury in life!
- Stay connected with others. Maintaining healthy relationships with people you trust is important for your mental wellbeing. Force yourself to make that call or instigate communication – it will help.
- Talk about your worries. It’s normal to feel a bit worried, scared or helpless about the current situation. Remember: it is OK to share your concerns with others you trust – and doing so may help them too. If you cannot speak to someone you know or if doing so has not helped, there are plenty of helplines you can try instead.
- Look after your body. Our physical health has a big impact on how we feel. At times like these, it can be easy to fall into unhealthy patterns of behaviour that end up making you feel worse. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, drink enough water and exercise regularly.
- Try to focus on the things you can control, such as how you act, who you speak to and where you get information from.
- Do not stay glued to the news. Try to limit the time you spend watching, reading or listening to coverage of the outbreak, including on social media, and think about turning off breaking-news alerts on your phone. You could set yourself a specific time to read updates or limit yourself to checking a couple of times a day.
Mental Health Awareness Week - Carry on doing things you enjoy. If we are feeling worried, anxious, lonely or low, we may stop doing things we usually enjoy. Make an effort to focus on your favourite hobby if it is something you can still do at home. If not, picking something new to learn at home might help. There are lots of free tutorials and courses online, and people are coming up with inventive ways to do things, like hosting online pub quizzes and music concerts.
- Take time to relax with Relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation. Create new habits.
- You might find it helpful to write a plan for your day or your week. If you are working from home, try to get up and get ready in the same way as normal, keep to the same hours you would normally work and stick to the same sleeping schedule. You could set a new time for a daily home workout, and pick a regular time to clean, read, watch a TV programme or film
- Good-quality sleep makes a big difference to how we feel, so it’s important to get enough. Try to maintain your regular sleeping pattern and stick to good sleep practices.
- Keep your mind active. Read, write, play games, do crosswords, complete sudoku puzzles, finish jigsaws, or try drawing and painting.
- Keep in touch with your favourite clients. Even if you’re on furlough you can connect. Explain to them why you can’t do their hair at home as it’s not safe and ask them to wait for the re-openings. Find out how they are doing and share some news.
- Enjoy nature. Take a long walk in a big park or by the river, look at the sunset, feed the ducks and the squirrels, take some photos of the sky, take some deep breaths. You will start observing things about the nature you never had the time for before and this can be interesting and refreshing. You can’t be missing the tube that much, can you?
- Join in any plans for your salon reopening and your staff/team re-meeting. Make notes and lists of what you will need to change.
- Finally, if you feel that you need further help don’t be afraid to ask. Here are all the links and contact numbers you could need https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/
For more of the latest industry news, click HERE.
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