Many people in Scotland and the UK have been directly affected by the contaminated blood scandal and the Inquiry.
People have had different ways of engaging with the Inquiry – for some people it has been important to be directly involved with all the information on a very regular basis, others chose to give evidence and to then try to keep the Inquiry at arm’s length while some described feeling too overwhelmed to become involved at all, avoiding it as much as possible. With today’s publication of the report, there are reminders of the Inquiry and the past in many areas of everyday life. Often these reminders can be very unexpected when you see a news headline, a story on a website or an unexpected email. It can feel overwhelming. Some useful advice about managing coping with distressing events in the news can be found at Coping with distressing events in the news – Mind
It is helpful to have a plan of what might help you when you are feeling overwhelmed. Sticking to your ‘normal routine’ can be very helpful in grounding us. What small regular things can bring you comfort? Having a cup of coffee in the garden, do you have a favourite place in nature?, brushing the cat, cuddling a grandchild, candles in the evening – make a list that works for you and use them throughout the day when you need them. Give yourself permission to take small time-outs for your mind and your body. Self-care is a necessity, not a luxury, particularly at stressful times.
Some people describe having guided exercises as useful ‘time-outs’ when feeling overwhelmed. These can be used every morning and throughout the day to help us feel less stressed. The grounding technique of ‘5, 4, 3, 2 ,1’ can be helpful to help us calm our mind and body. An example can be found at https://youtu.be/zilmlTO5i9Qsi=mSGroFTMSRjt3NQS
or https://youtu.be/30VMIEmA114
Some helpful mindfulness exercises can be accessed for free at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.velindrecc.mindfulness&hl=en_US&gl=GB