How are you doing post Covid-19 Lockdown level four?

Well it has been an interesting time, I hope that you and your family are well post COVID-19 level four lockdown.

Most of us have never experienced anything like that before and it was even hard to imagine that locking down a country could exist.  But it did and we all had to learn a new way of doing things.

For some it would have been a great break, maybe a paid holiday, where it enabled time to relax and bond with family, catch up on all the odd jobs.  

For others who were front line essential workers, the fear of going out each day being in the front line. 

For others loss of jobs and income, and sadly some loss of lives.

Whatever your situation, none of us could have prepared for our country going into lockdown. 

What seemed like a over the other side of the world problem, quickly came to us.

If you are someone who has felt the stress of this, I have five stress tips.

1. Be kind to yourself, no one saw this coming and who knew how to mentally prepare for it. 

2. Take some time to do something simple for yourself. Try and eat well, drink lots of water and get enough sleep.

3. If you need to do action, like job hunting, brainstorm how you will do that. Figure out what is your best option and then do one thing that will put you closer to what you need to get done.

4. If you need help, ask people, friends, neighbours, the community, community services, doctors. You are not alone if you a struggling.

5. Write down your stresses, make sure you are not carrying others stresses, think about what you can do about those things that are stressing you. If you have big stuff to stress about, don't worry about the little stuff. Talk to someone if it is overwhelming.

Take care and reach out for help if you need it.