Bounceback Encouragement for households tired of Lockdown

I’m sure everyone is tired of the monotony of lockdown & the limits & losses. To cope with the very likely despondency & lethargy I would like to encourage you to print out the handout on Bounceback to equip your child with developing resilience. The program was developed by two Australian psychologists Dr Toni Noble & Dr Helen McGrath.They describe resilience as “our ability to cope with & bounce back from negative events, challenges or situations to return to a sense of wellbeing.ie Resilience is the capacity to respond adaptively to difficult circumstances and still thrive” I have adapted their 10point acronym to the lockdown experiences to be more applicable. If you would like to read more about the Bounceback program visit www.bounceback.com for very interesting reading. A creative way to introduce the Bounceback idea is to play with a sponge or tennis ball & draw attention to the way it bounces up when you push it down. Then explain that the lockdown seems to be making many people stressed as if their happy feelings are being pushed down.

Bad times don’t last, this too will pass. Things will get better.

Let Faith be your guide & stay optimistic!

Other people can help if you talk to them.

Let’s listen & encourage each other!

Unhelpful thinking makes you feel more upset.

Master your mind, find the good in the day!

Nourish your body, eat healthy food & keep fit with exercises indoors.

Be gentle with your self- You are special!!

Concentrate on the positives bits no matter how small & use laughter.

Count your blessings, name them one by one!

Everybody is experiencing sadness at the changes or losses of lockdown & not just you.

Setbacks can be part of life so we all need to dig deep into our faith & courage!

Blame fairly in family tensions -how much of what happened was due to you/others/circumstances that you have no control over.

Take a deep breath, listen to some music & remind yourself that you can survive this!!

Accept the things you can’t change, & remind yourself that you still have choices.

Focus on what you can change!!

Catastrophizing exaggerates your worries. Don’t believe the worst possible picture.

Choose positive facts to frame your outlook of each day !!

Keep things in perspective, this is only one part of your life.

Balance tensions with the positives that will be available after lockdown!!