How to Cope with the Different Emotions of Isolation

Through the recent challenging time that the whole world has been going through, I feel it is important to recognise that we have all experienced many different emotions and that a lot of us have been on a “roller coaster ride” of feelings. This has been unusual for most of us but some were coping with isolation long before the recent quarantines. As your online trainer, I have suggested ways below to help with the emotional stresses that isolation can bring to any of us, whichever one of the “9 faces” you may experience. 

Stress
If you are getting stressed and feel like pulling your hair out with worry, or simply the fact you are stuck indoors, a good way to disperse any stress and anxiety is to do a short workout. This is a great way to induce the natural feel good happy hormones such as dopamine, oestrogen and serotonin. With the bonus that exercise also helps to reduce the stress hormone known as cortisol. So try this workout here when you are feeling stressed and anxious. Click on the play button.

Boredom
Get creative and make the most of the time we have as this is a rare thing in our lifetime that we have time on our hands. Normally we are always rushing from here to there. So explore your creative side and maybe you could start drawing, write a story, learn to bake, or if you are lucky enough to have a garden then get some fresh air and discover your green fingers. There are so many ways we can keep occupied and also by doing this we then help prevent those other faces creeping in such as A, E and F.

Loneliness
Being and feeling lonely can be very tough. No matter where you are in the world right now, if you have the internet then you never need feel lonely. If you want a conversation, if you want a friend , if you want just to feel part of somebody else’s life then please come and join our Facebook Group as we are all here to hold each others hands . The love and support will help you overcome the lonely face of isolation we can all feel. Click here to join our group.

Positivity
As we experience this rollercoaster of emotions, we will also possibly have odd bursts of feeling positive. So for this, really embrace how you feel and bottle that feeling. What is a great idea is to write down a positive quote, something that personally makes you feel good right now and stick this somewhere in the house so when you have a day or a moment of struggling, go to that space and read out loud your positive thoughts and quote from that moment.

Lethargy
It is so easy when we are having to stay at home to have a lack of energy. This can then lead to us sitting around more. Unfortunately, the less active we become the less energy we have – this becomes a vicious circle and we fee even more lethargic. So the key is to reverse this and do some sort of movement. However, when you don’t feel like doing so, it can be impossible to get the desire to do a workout. This is why I came up with the perfect solution – my 5 Minute Energy Booster – the great thing with this is it is not like a traditional workout, just these light movements will help increase your blood flow and energy levels. Best of all, you don’t even need to put on fitness clothes you can do this in your jeans or even your pyjamas. Click on the play button to do the workout.

Overthinking
Overthinking can be very self destructive and realistically a totally pointless exercise, as the truth is, we have no idea what the future holds so trying to figure it out really is mission impossible. Instead, swap over-thinking for living in the moment. Try and focus on what you can do today and just plan for tomorrow. Keep your mind busy instead of worrying about something you cannot control. So swap over thinking for mindfulness and if you find that hard, distract yourself with a nice light workout and get your body exercising as this will help you feel more positive. Click here for a lovely Indoor Virtual walk in France with me now.

Gratefulness
Being grateful is such a gift in itself, and now, more than ever, people are realising how important this is. Be grateful for the things that really matter in life, like our loved ones, our amazing Dr’s and Nurses working for the NHS and other front line workers saving us all right now, like the birds, like the flowers, the list goes on. And when you are feeling grateful why not write it down and send this or post it on social media to show someone just how grateful you are.

Sadness
This is totally normal – how can we not feel some sadness when feeling alone and isolated. It is also so important that if we want to cry we allow ourselves to. We should not bottle up this emotion and just remember you are not alone, the world is with you and we have to find the inner strength to carry on. On a day like this it is an idea that after you have released these emotions why not lose yourself into a magical film or a lovely book. Go for some truly inspirational film (my recommendation would be “Eddie the Eagle ” or even a fairy tale). But remember this feeling is normal just like all the other 8 feelings we will experience through this period, And you know you can always come and talk to someone in our Facebook group. So please do not feel sad on your own. Click here to join our group.

Confusion
There is no denying that this is a very confusing time in our lives and one that we never expected. If it were a film or a book we would think what has happened over the past 2 years was such an over the top plot we’d have trouble believing it! Feeling confused is only to be expected – we have never experienced anything like this in our lifetimes before. The key thing is now to focus on ourselves and use time at home to learn about how we can improve on our own health and wellbeing. Learn now and make it part of your daily life to do free home fitness, learn about how to cook from scratch and make healthy meals so processed foods become a thing of the past. Learn a new skill. Whatever skill or pastime you choose, make it something you enjoy and find satisfying. Having something new to do will bring some structure to your daily routine and help with your focus and give you something clear to think about. You can’t control what happens in the world so concentrate on something you can control – this will be a key element in addressing confusion and uncertainty. Try some of the videos on my YouTube channel – there are hundreds to choose from and they’re all free. Click here for my YouTube channel.

The recent traumas the world has gone through will hopefully soon be a thing of the past. That doesn’t mean that isolation will be banished from everyone’s lives – for some it is the norm. Hopefully some of the suggestion above will help to bring some relief. Aiming to be the best versions of ourselves, teaching this along the way to our loved ones and friends, and helping out those who are alone will be beneficial to everyone.