Working on responsibility and emotions to overcome the coronavirus
The spread of the coronavirus and its consequences have meant a radical change in the lives of many people, including youngsters and the boys and girls of Gate of Football. Laura Cano, our psychologist and training director, offers us some recommendations to make the situation we are living through more bearable:
Firstly, “from a psychological point of view, for those of us who play sports, we inevitably have to take a series of measures because, as the days go by, isolation becomes more difficult and simply trying to keep busy stops working. Now, keeping busy needs to be productive. So if you haven’t already set yourself a daily routine in keeping with this situation, you should do so to make the uncertainty more bearable and controllable.
To establish this routine, Laura points out that it is important to make use of the space we have: OUR HOME: “You have to try to locate all the activities in a particular space. For example, if we want to exercise, we should move the usual furniture to make space, differentiating it from the place where we eat or work.
What’s more, the routine shouldn’t vary too much from our usual schedule, as this will make the return to normal easier. In this sense, “We must try to get up, eat and go to bed at the same time as before and, based on that, schedule our activities during this time: homework, working from home and other responsibilities.”
Laura highlights another important aspect we should take into account during this period: free time. According to our psychologist, “We have to leave a fixed slot to spend time with the other members of the family or people we live with. That’s where we can develop the skill of CREATIVITY, which is so highly valued in sports and many other fields.
As for the routine, it is important to stick to it. Laura recommends not leaving anything to chance during these uncertain times because it can increase anxiety and distress: “During this time, we should try to minimize the negative emotional impact attached to the situation.”
Finally, among the sports activities we can do at home, Laura suggests: “sit-ups, push-ups, squats and weights”. Also remember that relaxation exercises such as yoga, meditation and balance are useful. However, she stresses that “the most highly recommended exercise during this time, not only because it’s good exercise and easy to do at home, but also because it helps release emotional energy, is dancing. Organized dancing or dancing to your own rhythm and with the music you like best”.
