Laura Dundovic reveals how she is looking after herself during lockdown
Former Miss Universe Australia Laura Dundovic reveals how she has looked after her mind and body during Sydney’s lockdown 2.0.
Stellar
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If the experience of a past year riddled with uncertainty has taught model and actor Laura Dundovic anything it’s that taking time to prioritise her mental health is a non-negotiable.
“It was one of those moments when you realise that everything can be taken from you,” she tells Stellar On Friday.
“So you’ve got to have a good relationship with yourself at the end of the day, to be able to cope with all that change. I’m working on that.”
The 33-year-old reveals that she’s getting better at looking after her mind to the same degree that she keeps her body physically fit.
“That’s the thing with mental health – we all go to the gym and work out every day, and with our minds, we just think, oh, we don’t really have to look after that,” Dundovic says.
“Or people do some work and go, ‘OK, I’m better now.’ But it takes time.”
Now in the midst of Sydney’s lockdown 2.0, Dundovic admits that when the stay-at-home orders were announced last Saturday, she did feel an initial twinge of “panic”. But after her stay-at-home experience in 2020, she was better equipped to handle being housebound this time.
“Last year I worked out that the most important thing for me is purpose,” she says.
“I write a checklist every day of things I need to do – and even if they’re small, I feel satisfied. That’s given me some sort of routine.”
While Dundovic hasn’t joined the masses learning to bake sourdough bread or taken up crocheting, she has been “perfecting a protein cookie recipe” and getting her step count up.
“I’m a high-intensity runner, so walking always [felt] pointless, but I’m walking to get groceries, listening to podcasts, and loving that,” she says.
She’s also well-practised by now at doing her daily workouts from home, and shares snippets with her 116,000 Instagram followers.
After she started modelling at the age of just 16, Dundovic cemented her status as a face to watch back in 2008, when she was crowned Miss Universe Australia.
From there, her career snowballed, with multiple brand partnerships, a five-year ambassadorship with Myer, a hosting gig on the reality TV series Dating In The Dark, and a stint on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2015.
She’s also been steadily nudging her way towards Hollywood, with a role in romantic comedy Me & My Left Brain in 2019. And now, with life at a temporary standstill, Dundovic is finally taking some time to reflect on and revel in the rosy glow of her professional achievements – even if that’s not something that comes entirely naturally to her.
“I think that especially in Australia, it’s hard for people to be proud of themselves,” she says.
“I was really guilty of it for a long time. Every time I did a job, I [thought] how I could have done it better. That’s been one of my things in terms of my mental growth – to stop and be proud of myself. And love that moment.”
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Originally published as Laura Dundovic reveals how she is looking after herself during lockdown
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