Planning for a more Positive lockdown 2.0: Keeping your Sanity this time...
Updated: Sep 16, 2020
I’m Laura, BCM Founder, and Mum living in Darebin, Victoria. When our state Premier, Daniel Andrews announced last Tuesday night that we are to begin another 6-week lockdown, I thought, as I am sure most mothers did: “oh no! here we go again!”.
I have a psychologist in my house. He’s called my husband, and he literally works as a Clinical Psychologist. We started talking about how we could make a plan to look after our mental health, to make sure we acknowledge what we can do differently, deliberately, to make it ‘easier’ or at least less stressful this time round.
Lockdown is never easy, especially with kids! We have two rambunctious boys – 5 and 7. They are high energy and intense. The food, the cleaning, the whining and nagging, the cooking and clothes – the tasks never end!! I am an academic Mumma – so I am also working while trying to home-school and keep us all alive. Of course my husband shares all these responsibilities, but it’s still a lot. I also have a history of mental health problems and find being at home, without access to my besties and exercise, really stressful. So, I needed a plan… FAST!
Today, Body Confident Mums launches the Sanity Planner. This is designed for mums far and wide, whether you are in lockdown or not. It is based on decades of scientific research which has revealed the core components for looking after your mental health. We call them being: Connected, Calm, Able, Nourished and Strong.
The planner is simple. Choose one or two activities under each of the components: Connected, Calm, Able, Nourished and Strong. Think of ways you can be flexible with your activities in case chaos sets in and your plans are thrown out the window – we are mums, this always happens! And just in case you are finding it hard, add in ways to find support to reach your activity goals.
You can download the Sanity Planner here- it contains examples and more information. Now go forth and conquer this pandemic Mummas – we know you can do it.
Xx Laura
Laura Hart is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne
