Staying sane with loadshedding
Can you remember a time without loadshedding? Much like COVID-19, it seems like “loadshedding” is ubiquitous, it’s always been around and it’s just as frustrating now as it was when it first debuted.
Which, FYI, was 14 years ago. Yep, that’s how long it’s been in our lives.
It’s challenging – to say the least – to effectively deal with loadshedding for so long and in such erratic bursts. Many of us are understandably fed up and loadshedding can start to take a toll on mental health.
Shed the negativity
We’re probably all guilty of ranting and venting about loadshedding. A little venting is actually healthy – keyword being “little”.
“Two stressed people equals less stress” is the title of a heartening study on stress. It goes on to report that sharing nervous feelings helps reduce stress. So, sharing your feelings and frustrations about loadshedding is okay in moderation. When you start getting into a doom spiral of constant negativity, you are asking for problems. There’s little you can do to overturn loadshedding, so the frustration and helplessness cycle goes on and on – making you feel worse – over and over.
Moments of sanity
What can you control about loadshedding? You can take pre-emptive steps to ensure your daily schedules are not severely disrupted. You can plan to work offline during that time or use the few hours to complete household chores, run errands or exercise.
Be mindful about cognitive distortion which is when you see things as wholly negative. Of course, loadshedding is frustrating, difficult to manage and impacts work and productivity. But again, it’s something that we cannot directly control. Keep this in mind and focus on the circumstances that are controllable, like your attitude toward loadshedding and being conscious of how it affects your mental wellbeing.
It’s not ideal but adjusting your mindset to view the dead time as useful can significantly impact your attitude and mental health.
Tips:
- If you can, invest in a power bank which you can use to charge your laptop and phone. At the same time, get a big flask that you can use to keep water warm for a few hours – always helpful when you need a cup of coffee!
- Download some reading material or offline work that you can tackle while the power is out. You could also use the time to clean out your inbox, organise your electronic files, sort through pictures and other admin tasks that don’t require the Internet.
- Stock up on candles and battery-powered LED lights whenever you can. These will always come in handy.
- Haul out that cooler bag from the garage and get some use from it. Pop in water bottles, snacks and fruit and keep these cool, especially helpful in summer when loadshedding hits during lunch hours.
- Get a little creative with the time at hand. If you can’t get any work done, use the break to go outdoors for a long walk. Or spend some time getting your cupboards organised. Read a few chapters of your book. It’s easy to while away those two hours playing a game on your phone; rather aim to be productive and you may feel just a little less resentful.
- When all else fails, remember we are all going through this together. Sure, some homes may have generators or back-up batteries or alternatives but for the most part, loadshedding affects us all. This sentiment may not solve the problem, but it at least counts as knowing others are in this too.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only. Always check with your doctor or medical practitioner about any health concerns, before embarking on any fitness or nutrition programme, and usage of any medication.