Your health and well-being

We understand that some our supporters may be struggling with their mental health during these turbulent times, so we decided to dedicate this segment to those who are in need of extra self-care. In this section you will find daily affirmations to encourage emotional support, daily quarantine questions to keep you grounded and suggestions for calls to action, all lovingly compiled by us here at the Events Team. 

Daily Affirmations

• I deserve me time
• I am doing the best I can
• Everything my heart feels is valid
• Taking care of myself helps the people around me
• I will not compare my productivity to others
• It’s okay to feel lost
• I am loved by others (including by us!)
• I deserve the love I give to others
• It’s okay to not always feel joyful
• I’m allowed to rest
• I don’t have to be productive to be worthy
• I am doing enough
• I am allowed to take a break from the news
• I deserve to be cared for

Daily Quarantine Questions

1. What am I grateful for today?
2. Who am I checking in on or connecting with today?
3. What expectations of ‘normal’ am I letting go of today?
4. How am I moving my body today?
5. What beauty am I creating, cultivating or inviting in today?

Suggestions for Action

• Make yourself see the beauty in your surroundings, absolutely anything! If you’re sitting at a table, appreciate the texture, the grooves and the colour. Notice how comforting the smell of your cup of coffee is. Look through your bookshelf; remember how much pleasure one book or another gave you when you read it. Everything around you is beautiful and comforting, you just need to realise how!
• Text or call a loved one or a friend you’ve not spoken to for a while, see how they’re doing, use this time to make your friendships even stronger
• When you find yourself thinking negatively STOP. Stand up, run up and down the stairs, do twenty jumping jacks, go hug a loved one tightly (if you live with others), in the moment this is the best way to shake negative thoughts, don’t sit with it
• Try your best not to fall back into old unhealthy behaviours – if you’ve struggled with any unhealthy coping mechanisms in the past, have an action plan in place if you feel one may be about to reappear – it could be calling a friend, going for a walk, or googling (proactively) how best to deal with an urge to engage in harmful behaviours
• Try your best to actively reshape your thoughts or what you say, instead of ‘I’m stuck at home this is awful’ say ‘I’m safe at home, I have a roof over my head and I’m in a comforting place full of books, movies and songs’ instead of ‘I have to clean it’s so boring’ say ‘ I deserve to be in an environment which is clean’, changing our mind-set as best as we can is most crucial in this time.
• Remember this shared experience is a reminder of our common humanity – many people we have never met are going through this with you. We’re all in the same boat and you are not alone – everyone’s finding the current situation difficult. Staying in touch or reaching out to as many people as you feel able too will help them as well as you!
• Try and strike a balance between being informed and being overwhelmed – please don’t obsessively follow news updates, as long as YOU are doing what you need to, that’s enough. Don’t make yourself anxious by spending hours going through news stories – this will end we promise.
• Don’t sit in silence, play some songs! Make playlists of different moods and play them depending on how you feel. If you’re working play classical music or jazz which is less distracting but more soothing. Background noise will help halt those feelings of isolation and despondency.
• Spend some time everyday making lists, not of what your boss wants from you or which chores need doing, but positive, calming ones like these:
  • Everything you’re grateful for
  • All of your favourite people
  • Your favourite movies, books or songs
  • Your best memories
  • All your holidays and their best moments