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Living well in containment
To experience a containment situation is to experience the boredom of social isolation, the feeling of lack of control. For our well-being, it is essential to give meaning to this containment: the objective is to save lives, being aware of this is a first step towards resilience.
Even if it is difficult to believe the glass is half full at this time, it may be an opportunity to rethink your priorities, to take time for yourself and your loved ones, and also to ask yourself, now that we have time:
What do I like to do?
What projects have I been putting off for months?
At the same time, it is essential to keep a certain routine and to sleep well.
Here are several tips on how to cope with this special time
1) Keeping up the pace: daytime rituals
Confinement is no reason to stop getting dressed in the morning or to remain inactive all day long. So, PUT AN END to your pyjamas! In the morning, I get up and get ready as I would for a normal working day. In this new home-working routine, the most important thing is to organize your day between your different activities: work, relaxation …
To make your day easier, start there with a routine that gives you the fishing, that motivates you (yoga, meditation, muscle strengthening session, music ….).
It is also necessary to take a real lunch break, if possible at a fixed time.
At the end of the day, it is important to clearly switch between work time and personal time by setting up a ritual (logging on to your favorite social network, having a snack with your children, etc.).
And above all do not forget the coffee break that you used to make at the office and why not with a square of dark chocolate that is an asset to your mood.
2) Taking time for yourself
Even if boredom is a good thing, it is important to reawaken your creativity, to reinvest in hobbies that are close to your heart and that you no longer have time to practice.
- Creative activities
Collage, writing, painting, the choice is yours. These activities are real strain channelers and allow you to find a support on which to evacuate your stress.
- Manual activities
Here again, the choice is vast: cooking, sewing, pottery, knitting, etc. It’s a great way to clear your head. When we create something with our hands, we put ourselves in pause mode, we are in the present moment and it allows us to find meaning again.
- Cultural and artistic activities
Containment is a good time to start reading again. On this website, you will find links to free e-books and audio books:
http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks
and http://www.openculture.com/free_ebooks.
In the same vein, in French, https://www.outilstice.com.
https://openclassrooms.com/en/ offers online training courses on a variety of topics.
You can also use search engines with the following terms:
• OER for « Open Educational Resources » or REL for « ressources éducatives libres » in French.
• MOOC for « massive open online » or CLOM pour « cours en ligne ouvert et massif » in French.
Music fans are not to be left out, some artists offer free concerts on the web and https://www.arte.tv/fr/arte-concert gives you access to a list of free concerts. And if you play an instrument and you’ve left it in a corner for a while, it’s time to start again.
If you are a fan of dance, and more particularly ballet, visit the Opéra de Paris website (https://www.operadeparis.fr/actualites/spectacles-de-lopera-de-paris-a-redecouvrir-en-ligne) to watch the show as if you were in the hall.
Finally many museums also offer virtual tours, Le Louvre or the Moma from your sofa, it is possible (https://artsandculture.google.com)
- Relaxation
Why not take advantage of this period to learn about relaxation. Relaxation helps us to canalize our emotions, to release our anxiety, our nervousness. Yoga, sophrology, meditation, etc. a wide range is offered to you, make your choice. Many sites currently offer free sessions, just type relaxation in your search engine. We suggest https://www.petitbambou.com (FR/EN).
- And many other activities
You’ve been dreaming about it for a long time, maybe it’s time to start your vegetable garden by ordering your seeds online.
You want to escape, to discover new horizons, visit https://www.geo.fr/voyage ou https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel
This list is not intended to be exhaustive. What about you, what is your RESOURCE ACTIVITY?
3) Maintaining social contacts
You can’t go out, you can’t kiss them, but you can keep in touch with your loved ones, especially if they’re alone or elderly, via the phone or in video with applications like Facetime, Skype, whatsapp, etc.
Thanks to these technologies, you can organize e-drinks (by consuming a soft drink, if not in moderation because alcohol abuse is bad for your health).
4) Sleeping well
Containment and sleep don’t always go well together. However, it is essential to get a good night’s sleep; a good quality of sleep is an asset to help our immune defences. So here are a few tips to help you:
- Exposing yourself to the daylight
Window, balcony or terrace (if you are lucky enough to have a house), expose yourself to natural light. It plays an essential role in the secretion of hormones that regulate the sleep/wake cycle.
- Don’t turn your bedroom into an office
Don’t make your bedroom your new office. If you don’t have any other solutions, don’t forget, once your working day is over, to remove your work tools (computer, telephone, etc.).
- Setting a digital curfew
1 to 2 hours before going to bed, avoid screens and anxiety-provoking information.
- Creating a Sleepy Environment
Daily ventilate your room to renew the air. Maintain a temperature around 18°, silence (unplug electronic devices) and if possible at bedtime, darkness.
- Establishing a bedtime ritual
Relaxation session, herbal tea, reading, music, etc.
- Sticking to your usual sleep schedule
In order not to desynchronize your internal clock, keep your usual bedtime and wake-up times. Try not to shift them too much.
- Testing micro-naps
If you feel tired during the day, take a 15-20 minute micro-nap that will give you energy.
In addition to these tips, don’t forget to smile and see the positive side of things from day to day (the sunset, the birds singing, your children’s smiles), it’s good for your mood and right now it needs it.
