As Covid-19 restrictions tighten what is the everyday looking like tomorrow?

 Covid has disrupted families, broken hearts and affected minds and with the latest statistics on mental health just emerging, what do we see? According to Eddie Hawthorne, the chief executive of Arnold Clarke (a large car retail group) “mental health concerns have hit the roof”. Combine this with the latest from the University of Glasgow who found that lockdown had a major escalation in suicidal thoughts, depression, loneliness and self-harm and one can see that as we tighten up restrictions again, the resilience of our mental health is once again being put under fire.

Over the past few months, mental health teams have reported that patients with existing mental health conditions have suffered from significant relapses in their conditions and most surprisingly, people with no known mental health issues have presented in acute crisis.  

There’s no definitive reason why some took lockdown like a beach holiday and others felt as though they were serving a prison sentence.  But the challenge on one's mental health is most likely down to mental health resilience. 

Resilience is related to maintaining stable mental wellbeing, having the ability to bounce back and also the skills to adapt in a continually changing environment. The last part is particularly relevant in the current covid pandemic. We find that our environment is changing from week to week with socials canceled, weddings moved or postponed and even struggling to send off our departed.   

The good news is that resilience is something that isn’t genetic, and it’s very much a state of mind linked with numerous other influences. Lifestyle factors such as relaxation techniques and mindfulness have been shown to increase resilience skills. Having hobbies and interests leads to a balanced lifestyle and when combined with sufficient sleep, physical activity and a supportive diet one has the raw ingredients to building your mental resilience muscles.  

Author: Dr. Adam Greenfield, Co-founder of WorkLifeWell | Doctor of Chiropractic | Wellness Specialist

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