Lockdown sanity

At the time of writing, the UK is facing another national lockdown, which some feel could be normal practice in the coming years, as new virus strains are discovered. It would be easy to give up hope during lockdown and perhaps over eat, drink and engage in other harmful ways to relieve boredom, anxiety and depression. However there is another, quite simple method to get through the unrest.

As a therapist, my primary goal is for my clients to experience new thoughts, feelings and behaviours that bring comfort and pleasure, not necessarily to eliminate their pain. The emotional or physical pain a client has, automatically dissipates when adopting a new pleasure or comfort pattern. Studies originating from the mid 1970's have shown that laughter and humorous memory recall can actually elevate acute and chronic pain. Erwin (2001)

So if you happen to be in a dark place in a lockdown or similar restrictive environment, if you can, try putting on some TV comedy, listen to humorous podcasts and songs or simply recall a recent amusing memory. Finally think on this true statement "Ten minutes of laughter a day, allows two hours of pain free sleep" Cousins (1976)

If you would like a free phone consultation to chat about ways to improve your mood, get in touch today.