Mental health exercises during lockdown that can be done with family

Thus, apart from the looming worry people may have about their safety and physical health as they hear the news from around the world, there’s the larger toll this is taking on our collective mental health. Lots of guidelines from governments and health organisations have forced people to practice to adopt an essential feature called social distancing—a deeply unnatural practice for humans. However isolation seems key to human race survival at this moment. There is no clarity on when things will stabilise and return to normal.

So, it is of utmost importance to have some initiatives, which will help family members maintain their calm and sanity, individually and collectively.

Having a routine which includes some mental health exercises is crucial for the overall well-being of family members and maintain harmony in relationships.

Here are some simple mental health practices which can be done with family.

Have an engaging flourishing protocol: Every day, do a fun activity together like drama, karaoke or decorating. Flourishing is a process of internal growth and purpose. While our brains are used to release dopamine to make us repeat activities that are essential to our survival (like eating), the brain can also emit dopamine signals during fun activities like decorating a cake or role-playing.

Expressive Writing: Writing about one’s own personal experiences can help feel lighter, improve one’s mood and boost happiness. It is also a fun way to break the humdrum of endless days, which seem monotonous. Be open to share writings/stories. As a regular after dinner activity, critique each other’s work with a sandwich approach (one good point, one area of improvement, followed by another positive).

Regular art and craft: Set an hour aside for a creative activity. Arts and crafts are healing. Creating something involves using the mind productively and gives a sense of achievement. Most people feel calmer and experience a positive mood boost during their craft activity, irrespective of age. Various crafting activities which can be done as a family include quilting, painting, sculpting, knitting, scrapbooking, sewing, and crocheting.

Meditation or deep breathing exercises: This involves taking long deep breaths, as though from the stomach and keeping the focus on breath. In difficult situations, relaxation and breathing techniques are very helpful, irrespective of age. Some helpful practices are visual imagery, pranayama and deep breathing.

Set an hour aside for a creative activity. Arts and crafts are healing. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)

A simple deep breathing exercise: Draw your breath in, for 4 counts. Hold for 2 counts. Exhale slowly for the next 4 counts. Repeat 10 times. Any child old enough to count to four can learn to how to do deep breathing exercises to lower stress. Children, with the help of adults, slowly count to four as they inhale, stop and then count to four as they exhale. This exercise should be done for several minutes until the child is calm.

This exercise can be done multiple times during the day. It is especially helpful, before bedtime, to calm frayed nerves.

Create a weekly/daily stress window for talking about stress: It is important that the whole family, especially children understand why they are feeling, the way they are feeling. If a child wants to talk about feeling stressed, listen. Talking about stress makes children understand stress, and they then feel equipped to cope with it. Addressing the issues at hand, releases mental pressure in children. Half-an-hour can be set aside daily at a fixed time, to do this exercise together.

Playing mind games: Playing board games or solving puzzles sharpen a child’s cognitive or thinking abilities. Puzzles engage the mind and make children move beyond the stress of looming issues and challenges. When the mind is engaged in meaningful problem solving, it does not feel as agitated about environmental stressors.

Journal writing: It offers a safe vent to tackle stress. It gives them an opportunity, especially older children to release their feelings about a stressful situation. A journal can be fancy and attractive or as simple as a plain notebook decorated by the child. Initially, parents can help children to write about their thoughts and feelings. Younger children can visually express themselves by drawing pictures. A journal is a valuable tool for children to understand themselves and handle a particular stressful situation.

During this pandemic, stress and panic seem to be spreading just as quickly as the virus. Writing about your lock-down experience, being innovative and creative, adding humour and producing different interpretations of dull days, can help decrease anxiety and increase mental well-being for all members of the family.

(The writer is a clinical psychologist, with more than 15 years of experience.)