Mental Health and Tea
Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year. In England, 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.
These statistics are true in an average year or week in the UK, but as we are all aware this has not been an average year, month, week or day in the UK since Covid-19 put our country and countless others into lockdown on March 23rd 2020.
We have been unable to see our friends and families, we have been fearful about what could potentially happen, frightened of the unknown effect of this Global Pandemic and worse still, many of us have lost family and friends to this invisible virus and have been unable to give them the send off they deserved.
Some of us pre Covid-19 may have been having counselling or therapy to help us with our mental health, although not impossible during lockdown thanks to Zoom, Skype or even just telephone sessions this very helpful resource has become more difficult to access effectively and as with everything else at the moment lacks the personal and hugely comforting aspect of sitting face to face with another person.
There is no guideline that explains how isolation should be done, how hospitals should be prepared, or what we can expect when businesses begin opening again.
The truth is, much of what we are doing is unscripted, unknowable, and uncertain, and that, it turns out, could be creating a great deal of anxiety, fear, and even depression.
As human beings we are, by our very nature social creatures - we feel good when we talk to acquaintances in the supermarket, chat to the family with the lovely dog at the park, grab a cup of tea with a friend or hug our family members when greeting them. All of these tiny little things that last year we wouldn’t even have considered could be taken away have been, and it is taking its toll on our Mental Health.
If you are struggling to cope with the changes Covid-19 has inflicted upon us all the first thing to remember is - You Are Not Alone. We are all going through this together and we will meet again one day to hug and to support each other in ways more reminiscent of the past years. We must forever remember this time as a part of our history and we must take from it the many gifts we have been given which at times can be difficult to see clearly.
The links below have some fabulous resources if you are struggling during this time to find the positives.
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html
While we all wait to see what is going to happen as time goes on, we are firm believers in that old adage “a cup of tea will make it all better” and there is research to support our theory that drinking tea will help us all through the tough times…
“Researchers have found, for instance, that drinking tea lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol. And evidence of long-term health benefits is emerging, too: drinking at least 100 millilitres (about half a cup) of green tea a day seems to lower the risk of developing depression”
You can read more about this research here.
Stay safe all.
See you on the other side.
The Qi Team x
