Like you, we are keeping a close eye on the daily news briefings regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and how it might affect carers, family members and friends. The Carers’ Centre building will remain closed until further notice and, perhaps like you, our team are discovering the joys, pains and strains that come with working from home.

Sadly the COVID-19 outbreak comes as carers across the country are already under enormous pressure and strain supporting the most vulnerable in our society with daily tasks, advocacy and emotional support. It’s more important than ever that we take care of our physical health and emotional wellbeing, fortunately it’s not hard to build a few simple self-care rituals into our day. So we thought we’d share five of our favourite (free!) ways to wellness during self isolation and social distancing.

1. A few minutes of deep breathing will work wonders for our “parasympathetic nervous system” to restore a sense of calm. You may be working from home and having trouble with the internet, Tuesday’s at-home maths lesson with the kids didn’t quite go as planned or suddenly you find yourself buried in a mountain of chores while the world around you is telling you to be more productive and take this time for you.If you can, get the person you care for, or the kids involved too?
2. The nation’s celebrities and influencers have taken up the task of teaching our children PE, music, history and more. Don’t forget to save a little of that feel-good community spirit for yourself. The NHS Fitness Studio is also providing a range of 24 on-demand classes, from post-natal yoga to belly dancing. If that doesn’t bring a few laughs into your living room, we don’t know what will!
3. Every week we intend on sharing a “What’s On” guide for our social media followers to help keep the fantastic sense of community we have here at the Centre and our much-loved groups. From family film nights, trips to the theatre (from the comfort of the sofa) and recipes each week, we’d be delighted if you could follow us and join in.Follow us on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/NTCarersCentre 
   Follow us on Twitter here: www.twitter.com/NTCarers
4. Sticking to a healthy diet and building healthy meals from scratch can be a challenge at the best of times, but even more so as some of us may struggle to find what we need at the shops. Where possible, establish set meal times, plan and prepare your meals and stick to it to try and create a sense of routine for yourself and the people you care for. “Normal” looks different for all of us, but if that means (safely) ordering a takeaway on a Friday night like you normally would then we say go for it.
5. Our lives were, and will be, full of to-do lists before and after the Coronavirus outbreak. That’s something some of us love to keep us on the right track, whereas some of us loathe the never-ending to do list. One list you will want to make is all of the people and places you can’t wait to see when life returns to “normal” again.Here are a few prompts to get you started:

   Coffee and cake at… 
   Meet …. for a walk at …. 
   Book a trip to ….. 
   Buy myself/someone I love a gift at …. 
   Make up for a missed celebration with …. at …. 

Got a wellbeing tip you’d like to share? Tweet us @NTCarers or pop us a message on Facebook.