Pandemic Lessons Learned - Dealing With Uncertainty
Pandemic Lessons Learned - Dealing With Uncertainty
Dear all, I hope that you are safe and well and I think it is just about ok to still wish you a very Happy New Year!
In June I wrote a blog post with the title “Looking after our mental health in challenging times”. At that point it looked like we might be nearing an end to the pandemic or at least there was some movement in the right direction. Six months later we find ourselves in a national lockdown and it is almost a year from when this first started.
There is no denying it, this has certainly been a challenging time for a lot of people. Work adjustments, parenting challenges, relationship dynamics changing, social life alterations, sport and exercise modifications and so much more has meant we have had to adapt in the most unexpected of ways. When something is also out of our hands and the changes are enforced upon us, it can seem more challenging as the locus of control is external rather than internal.
For today's blog post I thought it would be useful to discuss some of the lessons learnt and how we can approach the current situation to best manage life around us. Here are 3 main lessons we can learn:
Lesson 1- Control The Controllables
“ You cannot control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.” Wayne Dyer.
In life we have a choice to make which although can seem reductionist and too binary, it can serve to let us control how we see life events happening. One is to see them as happening TO us and the other is to see them as happening FOR us. The former places us in a path of accepting that the events which occur which are not initially perceived as positive are almost there as a form of punishment. We demonise the event and see only the struggles we have faced and what we have lost. The latter mindset gives us a sense of opportunity and curiosity. No one can control this virus 100%. Our attempts with all the measures in place , vaccines, lockdowns etc serve to maintain, reduce and hopefully bring closer and end to it. But, the virus is way more powerful than we are and will live it life as it sees fit.
We can accept the situation as it is and learn to find elements in our life which we can take more control of, or we can waste time and energy on gathering even more information, reading more news, hypothesising as to what may or may not happen with the virus. What becomes of the latter? There are thousands of people out there whose job it is to do this, the scientists, doctors and researchers who are paid to spend their time doing this. And yet we get drawn into joining them to feel some level of control over the situation when in reality, not even the experts have the answer.
If we spent more time focusing on what we could control we would undoubtedly have less anxiety, less fear, more time for ourselves, more energy to pursue meaningful endeavours which would serve our own personal development and overall health and wellbeing. Sure, we need to know the basics and what big changes have happened, but other than that, could it be that the time spent mulling over the uncontrollable could be better spent controlling our inside world?
Lesson 2 - Adaptation Not Abolition
“The key to success is often the ability to adapt.” - Confucius.
When something gets taken away from us or becomes more of a challenge we can approach the situation with 2 points, fixed or growth. The fixed mindset can tell us things like:
Well that's it, I can't do that anymore so I’ll stop completely until this is all over.
If I can’t do it like I did before then I’ll just stop it altogether.
I’m all or nothing so I’ll wait until I can give it my all again.
It’s pointless just doing a little, the benefits won’t be enough.
I have heard similar principles being said over that least few months. People who, for example used the gym regularly, altogether stop as it’s not accessible. Or people who have less time now to dedicate to their rehab stop. It is our job as clinicians to help you find ways where you can adapt and not abolish all the things you used to do. There has to be a level of acceptance of the status quo and a willingness to adapt in spite of it. Having the above mindset allows you to have ready made excuses as to why you can’t continue doing at least some of the things you did. A growth mindset has the following dialogue:
Ok. This has happened, what is possible for me instead?
I can’t do that anymore, but what could I do?
Even a small step is bigger than no step at all.
The skills I learn now could improve my old skill when I get back to doing that.
Let’s take playing tennis as an example, which has at times not been possible. If you were to take all the components of playing tennis down, what could you still work on and perhaps even improve? Perhaps you know that your footwork isn't the best at times. Buy a speed and agility ladder and work on that for a few months, that would no end help your game! Perhaps you've had that niggly shoulder whilst serving that you can't shake. Spend some time working on the strength and stability of that shoulder to allow you better performance when you're back.
If you dig a little deeper into things, the space and time we have been given can serve as a powerful vehicle to allow you to upskill. It sounds so basic but I often say to patients “Ok, so you can't spend an hour in the gym anymore, can you spend 15 minutes doing a HIIT class?” They often respond with “Well what will that do?”. “ More than doing 0 minutes will” I say. In times such as these, sometimes we have to appreciate that maintaining and ticking over is just fine and that is way more conducive to just stopping.
Lesson 3 - Finite vs Infinite
“The infinite is in the finite of every moment.” - Zen proverb.
Life can be divided into things which are finite and infinite. Films, sports, a working day, a song, a train journey, a holiday, all these things have a start and an endpoint. It’s easy to conceptualise this and place ourselves in that time frame. What you notice about these things is that they are just that, they are things or events. What isn’t finite in life is our emotions, our development, our intellect, our wisdom, our growth and our experiences of life. It’s very easy to approach this pandemic and more specifically the virus itself as a finite thing. Whilst at some point, yes, Covid-19 will cease to exist, there will not be an end to viruses as a whole for now, or at least perhaps ever, in the life existence as we know it.
I feel that at the moment so many people are placing such emphasis on dates, numbers, restriction changes to this that they approach it with an end in mind. Like other things in life, if we lead with expectation over appreciation of agreements then this can set us up for disappointment. If our expectations are met (let's say the news aligns with what we hoped for), we gain a momentary sense of relief and some level of freedom may come with it. But what next? Do we then start to set higher expectations? What if they aren't met? What if there is a u-turn like there has been so many times? Do we then continually just ride this rollercoaster of emotions ranging from elation to stress and worry? What actually changes?
Something which can help in these situations is to actually place yourself way ahead in the future, several years even. Think about a conversation you might be having with someone who either lived through this or perhaps didn't, a niece or nephew or a grandchild. Hopefully that conversation could go along the lines of “Remember that time when everything was really weird and we had to wear masks and everything was shut, how strange was that? But here we are, still living life.”
This, like many things, will be a memory in years to come. It will have its place in history like other events. Check in with what is present to you and how the moments you have during this time are approached with a sense of openness and optimism. Ask yourself this one power question to keep present and focused: “How can I approach today different or better than I did yesterday and how will that keep me focused on the infinite approach to feeling and experiencing a different appreciation for the now?”
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Alex.
Alex is a physiotherapist with Physio Remedies and also a Life Coach. He works with people to gain greater awareness in any aspect of their life they may be struggling with by allowing them to explore what might be possible with more clarity in their goals and ambitions. Ultimately he aims to provide opportunities to people to lead a more fulfilled and extraordinary life by unlocking their fullest potential. You can get in touch with him at alex@alexmanoscoaching.com and follow him on Instagram at @alexmanoscoaching.
COVID-19 The Road To Recovery
COVID-19 The Road To Recovery -
Advice From The Chartered Society Of Physiotherapy
Have you had Covid-19 or know someone who has had it?
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has developed a brand new animation to help patients who are recovering from Covid-19 to self-manage their symptoms with physiotherapy guidance. This is a great resource for you to share with your friends and families to help ease some of their anxiety about recovering from the virus and getting back to normal life. The animation is titled COVID-19 The Road To Recovery and you can watch it below:
This short, 90 second animation illustrates what people can expect when recovering from Covid-19; reassuring them that it may take time to get their energy and fitness back. It also provides advice on simple measures that anyone can take to ensure the best recovery possible; like keeping active and partaking in low-intensity exercise.
If you or anyone you know have concerns about your recovery from COVID-19 we encourage you to seek the advice of a Chartered Physiotherapist, GP or other Health Professional, who can provide bespoke advice and support. You can also see more information about Covid-19 recovery from the CSP by visiting this link - Covid-19: the Road to Recovery.
If you’d like an appointment with one of our physios, please call us on 02030 12 12 22 to book an appointment.
How To Work From Home Pain Free
We don’t recommend working from home like this…
How To Work From Home Pain Free
Many of you are now working at home due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions. Some of you will have home offices and others of you will be sitting at your kitchen / dining room tables.
Sarah has written up some tips on how you can make your home office set up more ergonomic and try to prevent unnecessary aches and pains.
1. Sitting position:
Always sit your bottom to the back of any chair.
Knees and hips should be at a 90 degree angle and feet flat on the floor. If your feet are dangling, put something underneath to support them (big books / solid box).
You should sit 3 - 6 inches away from your desk. Clear any clutter from under the table so you can get in close.
Elbows bent to 90 degrees and close to the body.
Wrists should rest in neutral.
If you don’t have an ergonomic chair, you can roll up a small towel (not a cushion), put some tape around it to maintain the roll shape and place this into the small of your back to help maintain an upright posture. Or buy a lumbar support – see links below.
Your head should be straight, shoulders relaxed, and your line of vision should be at the top third of your screen.
2. Laptops:
If you are working off a laptop for long hours and you can afford a laptop stand, buy one now. Laptops were not designed for long periods of work and using one will cause pain long term as you have to look down. They can be as cheap as £15 and go up to £150 – see links below.
Place your screen on the stand and make sure your line of vision is in the top third of the screen.
If you have a lap top stand you will need a separate keyboard and mouse.
If you do not have any of the above and continue to work on laptop, take even more breaks - every 20 mins - and do some stretches.
3. Desktop Screen:
Your screen should be placed central to your body.
Screen height should be in the top third of your vision – if not stick some books underneath it.
4. Mouse and keyboards:
Keyboard should be placed central to the body, and at a height where the wrists remain in neutral and elbows at 90 degrees.
Mouse should sit close to the keyboard on whichever side is best.
You can use mouse and wrist rest if they help achieve this position.
Make sure your keyboard and mouse stay within the circle, as shown above.
Other top tips:
Take micro-breaks every 20 minutes: you should take a break and complete 20 seconds of micro movements. This could be shrugging the shoulders back, rotating your upper back from side to side, turning your neck side to side etc.
Documents should be placed at the same height as your computer screen - try using a document holder.
Allow your eyes to take a break from your screen by exercising them! Do this by focusing on objects in the distance regularly when you take a break from staring at your computer screen.
Use a head set instead of a handheld phone. Handheld devices should be used only for short durations with the upper limb supported, which will reduce the strain through the neck.
Handheld devices (phones, iPads, Kindles etc) should be held at eye level so to prevent strain on your neck from looking down for long periods.
Your office should be well lit and well ventilated, with no glare from lights or windows on your screens.
Stand hourly at a minimum.
If you stand for prolonged periods, this also causes fatigue and your arms are not supported, so standing desks are not necessarily better than sitting desks in general which is evidence based supported. The key is taking regular breaks from static postures.
Remote workstation assessments:
If your office set up is a pain in the neck (literally!), get in touch with us! We can do remote ergonomic assessments of your workstation set up to see how we can help you. We are currently offering these at £55 for a 30 minute session.
And of course, if you’re in need of a physio appointment, we’re also offering those remotely too, via online video or phone.
Buying links:
Lumbar / McKensie rolls – by on Amazon and how to use them – McKensie roll position.
Laptop stands – ebay – laptop stand or Posturite Stand – which doubles up as document holder.
We have worked with Posturite for over 15 years and they have very kindly offered all our patients a 25% discount on any products bought from them. If you are a patient of ours, please contact Chris at chrishollely@posturite.co.uk, quoting PHYSIOREMEDIES, to get a quotation.
Words by Sarah Lawson.