Congratulations! You’re Part of the World’s Biggest Psychological Experiment! Time to Call in a Gratitude Intervention.

These are strange times. As a result, you’ve probably experienced varying degrees of stress, anxiety, emotional exhaustion or general worry. It’s normal and expected.

If you’re under a quarantine or self-isolation situation, separation from loved ones might be causing a mental toll. And don’t get me started on actually being locked in the same dwelling alongside loved ones who blink too loud…

A recent study published by The Lancet revealed (unsurprisingly) that low mood, anger and irritability are the most common outcomes of quarantine. The study also points out that parents quarantined with their children endure an even worse mental health toll!

So, what can we do?

Time to call on a handy inner resource: mental resilience.

In essence, mental resilience is the capacity to use the mind and behaviour to remain calm or adapt during chaos. Defined as more than simply ‘bouncing back’, the American Psychological Association (2020) describe it as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress.”

“But wait…” you might say. “When quarantine began, my resilience sold out faster than the toilet paper.”

Never fear, it’s not too late to begin or re-ignite your mental resilience training. The best part is that it’s a skill that can be learnt, and it takes less than a few minutes per day.

There are several ways to build mental resilience. Gratitude is one of them. It’s not a cure-all, but if we get into the habit of looking for the good (there is always some good), we gently strengthen and develop our mind.

Here’s the light version:

Right now, think of something you're grateful for. Your pet, the gift of another day, the sun shining, scrolling social media while on the toilet. Go on. Nobody else has to know. What rocks your boat? What are you grateful for? {*Insert elevator music…}

After you’ve settled on something, take a minute to rest in the feeling that it brings you.

Notice what it feels like in your body.

Absorb and enjoy the experience.

Rinse and repeat daily.

Here’s the pro version:

Upgrade your gratitude by remembering a ‘challenge’ you’ve had in life thus far. Think of a tough time that you’ve already experienced and give yourself a high five for getting to the other side of it. Ask yourself any or all of the following questions: Is there anything from that incident or time that I could be grateful for, even though it was really intense? What did it teach me? Have I changed in any way (for the better) due to that challenge?

Currently, a third of the world’s population is in some sort of lockdown/ quarantine. We’re all in this together, and the current circumstances will change. In the meantime, we need to call on (or start building) the emotional and mental resources that we all have.

Melissa’s latest book ‘Mindfulness Made Easy’ is available as a PDF right here. Also available from Amazon.

Arki Helpommaksi (in Finnish), is available here.

References:

American Psychological Association. (2020, February 1). Building your resilience. http://www.apa.org/topics/resilience

The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence (February, 2020). https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30460-8/fulltext