Pre-lockdown, your days and weeks were likely jam-packed with both work and leisure commitments. You spent hours in your salon, as well as working on it after hours. You probably had a health and fitness regime either at your local gym, or with an exercise group. And days off may have been spent socialising with family and friends.
So why is it, that during this lockdown, when all of the above have been taken off the table, we’re feeling infinitely more exhausted and rundown?
There’s a good chance that the fatigue is the result of enduring stress and anxiety; your brain and body are working overtime to remain positive and composed as your parasympathetic nervous system tries to calm your body’s ‘fight or flight’ response.
That, combined with the sudden lack of routined, scheduled days, creates a confusion, a blip in the routine our brain is used to.
“Consider what your day used to look like,” says clinical psychologist Katie Gracie. “You may have done a gym class, showered, driven to work, grabbed a coffee on your way, and opened your doors. You day was so programmed that your brain didn’t have to put too much effort into figuring out what comes next – you just knew. And now, your system has no idea what’s going on. It’s craving routine and function, but it’s just being fed a massive dose of uncertainty and that can fuel anxiety. All of that is actually very exhausting, despite not actually doing very much at all.”
The good news is that there will be a day that we can re-open our salons and resume our normal life. But in the meantime, says Katie, it’s important to feed our system some what it needs, and that’s a sense if routine.
“Start your day with an activity, be it reading the news or going for a walk. And stick to it. Eat breakfast and sit down to do some work for a couple of hours. Step away from your computer or desk for lunch. Drink water, get sleep. You’ll find that even while your situation hasn’t changed, your feelings towards it will.”
Visit the #BEAUTYSTRONG hub atwww.professionalbeauty.com.au/beautystrong/
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