Drs Lucy Hone and Denise Quinlan encourage people to pay particular attention to ‘‘what’s still good in your world’’ and to‘‘do the stuff that makes you happy’’.
‘‘Research shows how vital experiencing positive emotions is for our resilience. Negative emotions are contagious and prolonged feelings of helplessness are strongly associated with depression.’’
They list their strategies in ‘‘Real-time Resilience Strategies for Coping with Coronavirus’’, prepared for the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience.
They encourage people to focus on what matters and what they can control.
‘‘Easy to write, hard to do we know, but worrying about things you cannot change will only upset you and frustrate you further.’’
They suggest people give their brain a ‘‘holiday from coronavirus’’.
‘‘Avoid rumination by giving your poor overly-busy wandering mind a rest by deliberately participating in seriously engaging activities.’’
Their suggestions include crosswords, watching television, making a new recipe, listening to music or podcasts, reading, talking on the phone, playing dress-ups with the kids or drawing.
They encourage people to be kind to themselves and others.
‘‘Remember everyone is doing their best to navigate these exceptional times. A little kindness will go a long way. A lot of kindness is even better.’’
Dr Quinlan is co-founder of the institute and a University of Otago Research Fellow.Dr Lucy Hone is a research associate at AUT University in Auckland.
