As global communities commemorate World Health Day, philanthropist and psychologist Dr Cino Shearer shares his top tips to help South Africans stay mentally fit during the 21 days national lockdown.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, many people have displayed symptoms of anxiety and other mental health-related issues. The anxiety could be the result of the fear contracting deadly coronavirus or restricted movements and social distancing due to lockdowns that have been enforced by government officials in many countries around the world in the effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Below are Dr Shearer 10 tips to taking care of your mental health’ during the lockdown.
- Avoid watching covid-19 updates that make you feel anxious or fearful.
- South Africa has one of the highest rate of ill literacy in the world, use this time to read making a family fun activity.
- Our minds tend to wonder when need it to be still so, practice yoga and meditation. This does not require big spaces.
- Start a journal, write down all your experiences during the lockdown and you will discover a lot about yourself.
- For adults with children: encourage the children to express themselves by means of writing and drawing.
- Create news routines for kids to make them feel secure. Eating times etc .
- Senior citizens I would encourage them to relay stories about days gone by.
- Start an urban garden as a family.
- Use this time if you live alone to send out encouraging messages to loved ones and friends, write to them or share a book learn a new hobby or language .
- In all that we do during this time let’s practice Ubuntu! And remember to do our part in keeping the nation safe and the world depends on each one of us doing our part .