Coronavirus (COVID-19): health of you and your family

You may be worried about the coronavirus outbreak and the impact it will have on your life. This could be having to stay at home or avoid other people.

You may start to feel bored or frustrated and miss other people. You may feel low, worried or find it difficult to sleep.

At times like these, it can be easy to fall into unhealthy patterns of behaviour which can make you feel worse.

Top tips

There are simple things you can do for your mental and physical health that will help including:

• exercising at home - see easy low impact home workouts from the NHS and Medway Sport exercise classes
• spending time doing things you enjoy - this might be reading, cooking, radio and TV
• eating healthy and well-balanced meals, drinking enough water, exercising regularly, and trying to avoid smoking, alcohol and drugs
• opening your windows or going into the garden for fresh air and natural sunlight
• going for a walk outdoors - this is fine but remember to stay more than 2 metres from other people

We are posting daily online activities to help you feel good and stay well at home. Follow the A Better Medway Facebook page for mindfulness sessions, food inspiration, healthy lifestyle advice and much more.

Take the alcohol quiz

Have your drinking habits changed during the pandemic? Take the alcohol quiz. The quiz is quick, confidential and helps you understand your drinking.

In December, we are running a prize draw for a £100 shopping voucher. If you fill in the quiz and complete the feedback survey, you could be entered.

If you are concerned about your drinking, the Lower My Drinking app can help. There are steps you can add to your weekly routine to help bring your alcohol intake down. These include: 

• motivational techniques
• setting up alerts
• providing weekly comparisons

To download the app, visit the Google Play or App Store.

Connect with people

If you can, draw on support from your friends, family and networks during this time. If you’re feeling worried or anxious, talk to them about how you are feeling.

Remember it is okay to share your concerns with others you trust and in doing so you may end up providing support to them too. Or you can use a NHS recommended helpline.

Stay in touch over the phone, by post, or online. Let people know how you would like to stay in touch and build that into your routine.

Follow or like @ABetterMedway on Facebook and Twitter for regular health updates and advice on how to look after your wellbeing during the coronavirus outbreak.

You can also join the Medway Library virtual book club - reading through The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Mental health resources

The Samaritans can help if you are having a difficult time. Call free phone 116 123 or 0330 094 5717 (local call charges will apply).

Kooth is a free, safe and anonymous online service offering emotional and mental health support for children and young people aged 11 to 25 in Medway. Sign up for free kooth to access self help materials, such as Kooth’s magazine, mini activities, and daily journal. There’s also the option of drop-in or booked sessions with professional counsellors from 12pm to 10pm Monday to Friday and 6pm to 10pm at weekends. This is done via messaging or live chat. Kooth is available 365 days of the year, including Christmas Day.

• Mental Health Foundation's top tips - looking after your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak.
• Staying well at home - Read MIND's checklist to prepare for staying well while at home.
• Protecting your mental health - If you are concerned about your mental health you can explore your feelings using the NHS emotion tracker. The tracker will help you to identify activities or resources to help.
• Feeling lonely - useful suggestions if you are feeling lonely whilst self-isolating.
• Preparing for social distancing and self-isolation - self-help books and resources from MIND
• Release the Pressure helpline and new text service
• Healthy Mind programmes
• Every Mind Matters - useful tips to help improve your mental health and wellbeing if you are worried or anxious.
• Evidence suggests there are 5 actions we can do to look after our mental wellbeing. Find out what they are and how to fit them into your life.
• Action for happiness have published 10 keys to happier living.
• Wellbeing calendar - there are enough activities in this wellbeing calendar for you and your family to try every day for a month.
• Reading Well - Reading Well Books on prescription helps you to understand and manage your mental health and wellbeing using self-help reading

Meal planning resources

• Use Love Food Hate Waste's recipes section for ideas on how to use up leftovers, use the portion planner to help plan meals, and find out how to store food so that it lasts longer.
• 15 thrifty ways to use your leftovers from the British Heart Foundation
• More than 150 delicious, easy, healthier recipes just a tap away. Search by mealtime and save shopping lists for later using the NHS meal app.