Five ways you can keep calm and carry on

It’s fair to say that we have been going through turbulent times in the UK, and there is no immediate end in sight. Over the past few months there have been many changes and crises hitting us. Three prime ministers in short succession, the death of The Queen, rising energy and food prices, fuel shortages, NHS waiting lists, train strikes – and of course the ongoing impact of the war in Ukraine.

It’s all a bit doom and gloom, yet we are expected just to get on with life as normal amidst all the chaos. Easier said than done! But there are things that can help you to keep calm and carry on through it all.

In this article we take a look at five key aspects of your life and a few tips to help you keep calm and carry on despite all that is going on.

Five key aspects of life

Trying to calm things down in every aspect of your life is a big ask. So, like anything else, the best thing to do may be to focus on one thing at a time. We are going to look at ways to keep calm and carry on in terms of your:

• Physical health
• Mental wellbeing
• Relationships
• Home
• Finances

For each of the above, we will give you five quick tips as to how to get things under control, keep calm, and carry on.

Physical health

• If you have underlying health conditions, ensure that you keep up to date with appointments, treatments, drugs and lifestyle choices for this. It can often seem like a battle, but you owe it to yourself to keep everything going, and will feel better for it.
• Eat as well as you can, and try to include something from each of the main five food groups every day: fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates (eg potatoes, bread, rice, pasta), proteins (eg fish, eggs, meat), dairy and alternatives, oils and spreads.
• Keep your body hydrated by having plenty to drink during the day. If you feel thirsty, it’s a sign that your body has already begun to dehydrate. You should aim to drink around 2 litres of fluid a day (around 6 to 8 glasses), ideally plain water, but sparkling water, squash, tea and coffee all count too.
• Exercise regularly as this helps to boost your immune system, strengthen bones and muscles, and potentially reduce your risk of major health issues.
• Try to get plenty of sleep – most adults need between 7-9 hours sleep. Sleep impacts the condition of your hormones, immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Lack of sleep can increase the risk of obesity, heart disease and infection.

Mental wellbeing

• Sleep is also important for your mental wellbeing. It can help you to think more clearly, focus better, and react more quickly. But an ongoing lack of sleep can lower your mood, and even make it more difficult to interact positively with others.
• Exercise is another of the above factors that can improve your wellbeing as well as your physical health. It can lift your mood by releasing endorphins – feel-good hormones – in the brain.
• Fresh air is also key to mental wellbeing. Take the opportunity to get out in the fresh air whenever you can, even if only for a few minutes. Fresh air helps to raise oxygen levels in your brain, which then increases your levels of serotonin, which can act as a mood stabiliser.
• Getting in tune with nature is also important for mental wellbeing. So, as well as fresh air, do all you can to bring the outside in. Plants or flowers in your home can bring a sense of calm to your surroundings.
• Indulge yourself by making time for things you enjoy. No matter how busy you are, even a few minutes doing something just for you can make a big difference. Whether that’s listening to music, taking a bath, meditating, reading a book, doing a puzzle or anything else you choose, carve out a few minutes to make it happen.

Relationships

• Relationships with family and friends are the most important thing in life, so do what you can to make them a priority. Take time every day to talk to the family you live with and make sure they know that you love and care for them. Life can get so busy that it’s easy to end up rushing around and not spending quality time together. Whether you use family mealtime, or bedtime, or another slot during the day or evening, make sure you “check in” with each other properly at least once a day.
• Also keep in contact regularly with other family and close friends. Even just a text, WhatsApp, or email can help them know that you are thinking of them. And should hard times come, it makes it easier to be there for each other when there is already ongoing contact between you.
• Also take time to have fun with family and friends. During difficult times, the concept of fun can disappear altogether. But getting together for a walk, drink, or shared meal is easy to arrange and the time will be a good investment. It’s important to step off the treadmill of life, even if only for a couple of hours, and create happy memories with those you love.
• Good relationships are built on honesty, so if you’re feeling run ragged, you may need to be more open and honest with your nearest and dearest, and ask for help with some things. Or if it’s more a case of feeling like you’ve lost yourself somewhere along the way, you may need to start speaking up more so that people know what you do and don’t want, and you are not the one who is always putting others first and subduing your own needs.
• If you find that some relationships are draining you either mentally, physically or emotionally, it’s time for a rethink. For example, if you have a friend who you have come to dread seeing, because you always end up feeling negative, perhaps you need to stop seeing that friend. Relationships do evolve over time, but if there are some that are becoming too demanding, or even toxic, you may need to pull the plug.

Home

• Home should be a place of refuge and sanctuary. But if your home is cluttered and disorganised, this will add to your stress. So if you are feeling out of control in your home, start on the process of decluttering and try to gradually reduce the amount of stuff in your home. It will then be easier to maintain and more relaxing to live in. See our recent article How do we end up having so much stuff?! for tips on how to do this.
• As well as decluttering, you will feel more in control at home if you have some kind of cleaning routine that enables everything to be kept at a reasonable standard without too much effort. It’s not worth aiming for show home standard, but a regular 20 minutes or so each day can work wonders.
• We mentioned earlier the current trend for bringing the outside in. And it’s amazing the difference that a few plants or flowers can make to your home. Another alternative is to use the colour green in some way in different parts of your home. So if you feel the need for a calming influence, experiment with ways to bring the outside into your home.
• You need to be able to relax in your home, so if you work from home it’s good to create boundaries between work and home. Ideally try to find a regular place in the home where you do your work then walk away from it when it’s time to clock off. Even if you can’t do this, try to put away your laptop and work papers when you finish, so they are not sitting there reminding you of work.
• Home is where the heart is, so enjoy being where you are with those you love. Even if your home needs things doing to it (and whose doesn’t?!), learn to turn a blind eye and make sure you spend happy times with your family. Time passes so quickly, so why waste time fretting about trivia like kitchens and bathrooms when you could be enjoying precious hours with your kids.

Finances

• Finances are one of the key areas where many of us feel completely out of control. The first way to claw things back is to make a budget of all your income – money coming in – and expenditure – money going out. This will give you a clearer picture of how things are looking and where action is needed.
• If the numbers don’t add up, you need to consider either reducing your expenditure or increasing your income. Easier said than done! But our article How to clear your financial backlog has lots of helpful information on how to get started.
• You may also want to consider taking out a new loan to clear your current debts and start afresh. Loans2Go may be able to help here.
• Make sure you are aware of any benefits or other financial help that may be available to you. You can find more information about this at Gov UK.
• If you are really panicking, there are professional bodies out there to help. Start by checking out:
  • StepChange
  • Citizens Advice
  • Debt Advice Foundation
  • National Debtline

We hope that the information in this article helps you to keep calm and carry on in whatever aspect(s) of your life that have been causing you stress recently. We are living in changing and turbulent times, but there are things that you can do to keep on going, and also help you to find time to enjoy life in the process.

Do visit us here again soon for more lifestyle and financial tips from Loans 2 Go.