Most of Europe is still in lockdown as governments battle to contain infection rates. It's been a challenge for many of us, a challenge that British explorer Ed Stafford knows all about in a career learning to survive situations that tested him, both physically and mentally. 

Stafford holds the Guinness World Record for being the first person in history to walk the length of the Amazon River and was named as one of the National Geographic Adventurers of the Year in 2010. 

These are just some of the many accolades and awards to come his way for surviving in the world's most hazardous environments. Despite being held at gunpoint, being shot with a bow and arrow and having to make YouTube vlogs to pay for food, Stafford has also found lockdown challenging and to help us out has shared some of his key coping mechanisms. 

READ MORE

Which are the world's happiest countries?

What we've 'needed' most in lockdown

Should football fans have to buy loyalty tokens?

Stafford says that when he had "a bit of a breakdown" after returning from an uninhabited tropical island, a psychologist compared his courage to a bank account format, which normally has a lot of reserves but is currently depleted. 

"I think a lot of people are finding themselves in that state," he says. 

Stafford explains one of the main coping mechanisms he has found for dealing with lockdown is "being comfortable with the uncomfortable," which he describes as "probably the biggest [lesson] in terms of learning from a life of adventure, doing all this survival stuff."

He adds: "If you're waiting to be happy until you're 100 percent safe, then you might be waiting quite a long time. So, for me, it's about being comfortable with uncertainty."

Stafford, who is also a TV presenter, says taking a step back is a great tip to survive in extreme environments and can be applied to coping during the coronavirus lockdown and the wider pandemic. 

The explorer says that when his own mental health was suffering, he was recommended meditation instead of medication. His form of relaxing is also one that is very easily accessible: "I use a little app on my phone," he says. "It's actually called Headspace, but I'm not sponsored by them or anything like that and I find it so good. 

"It's a really nice layman way of getting a bit of space. So if you're used to your brain working at 100 miles an hour and coming up with all sorts of anxious thoughts and worries and fears, it's just a little bit of time to step up, step back, step away from those thoughts, realize that you aren't your thoughts, you're obviously a sort of a bigger thing than just the thoughts that are rattling around your head all the time."

Stafford says that by stepping back and observing, it provides the ability to allow thoughts to calm down instead of identifying with them. 

"In your head, I think it's very easy to tie yourself in knots and go a bit doolally [crazy] and become very, very anxious. Whereas if you're meditating, you're coming from a deeper place."

Stafford also says that, overall, it's important in life to do the things that matter to you and focus on them. Close relationships and being with those who matter to you are also a positive coping mechanism. 

"If you're doing something for close family members because you love them, then they are the sort of things that you're going to stick at... You're going to be resilient and you're going to do them because they mean something to you.

"Pick stuff in life that really matters to you and focus on that, then it's a lot easier to stick to that mental health."

The importance of family and personal relationships in building resistance are also supported by research. The Project Discovery conducted by Land Rover showed that 87 percent of highly resilient people prioritize time with their family and loved ones over everything else in their lives. Statistics show that highly resilient people are also 40 percent more likely to explore and discover new places. 

However, the study also noted that resilience is something that can be learnt and developed. 

Video editor: Pedro Duarte