WELLBEING
Between recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, climate disasters, and ongoing violent conflicts, the world can feel like a scary and unstable place.
You all know about the importance of HIV medicine for managing your physical health, but how can you try and look after your wellbeing more broadly and find resilience in times of personal and global crisis? There are lots of things that can help.
Staying connected
Reaching out and being in touch with others is really important in times of crisis. To find out more about the support available from Chiva, including hardship support, click here.
Try to keep in regular contact with friends and family, and stay connected. Our summer support camp is a place for young people living with HIV to meet each other. If you have already taken part in our events, try to stay in touch with the young people you’ve met, and reach out when you’re struggling.
Limiting news
Staying informed can be helpful, but reading the news too often can become overwhelming. Try limiting how often you read, watch or listen to the news. Perhaps try keeping it to certain times of day.
Exercising
Exercise naturally helps to lift your mood. It can be difficult to find the energy if you’re feeling low, but even a short bit of exercise can give you a burst of energy and will make you feel better. You could also try an activity with friends or family members to help motivate each other. See the Chiva Support Camp yoga sessions below!
Regular sleep
Sleeping too much or too little can affect your mood. It is important to try and stick to a routine where possible as it will help give you more energy. Find more information on how to improve your sleeping habits here.
Eating well
Trying to stick to a healthy diet and regular meals times will also boost your mood. While it’s ok to have the occasional treat and snack, having a varied, balanced diet will ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need to stay well. There are lots of cheap and simple recipe ideas to try: here are some ideas.
Doing things you enjoy
Try to make time for the things that bring you joy and energy, and make you feel relaxed. That could be all sorts of things such as dancing, computer games, reading, baking, drawing, writing, or crafts. If you don’t know where to start, try 10 fun things you can do at home or the different games and breathing exercises on Calm Zone.
Feeling tracker
Feeling trackers can help you connect with how you’re feeling. They can also help you focus on the present and what you’re feeling right now. Rather than being focused on the past or worrying about the future, focusing on the present can help you feel less anxious.
Feeling trackers help you track your feelings and mood change across a day or a week, which may also tell you what makes you feel happy and calm, and what triggers more difficult feelings. Colouring is also a mindful activity which can help you feel relaxed.
Make a self-soothing box
This can be a great way to manage your feelings. Collect some things together that help you feel more grounded and relaxed (e.g. positive affirmations, fidget spinners, photographs, something that smells nice, mementos with good memories associated with them). These boxes can really help if you get a feeling of panic, anxiety, or low mood. Learn how to create a self-soothe box here.
What may work one day, may not work another. Whilst doing the above can help your wellbeing, it is important to be kind to yourself and go easy on yourself if you are not able to stick to a routine.
Yoga and relaxation sessions
This is Liz, our fantastic Chiva support camp yoga teacher, who has recorded some short yoga and relaxation sessions for you that can easily be done at home. These were recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic to help support young people in lockdown.
