Lockdown tips

10 things you can do to help yourself cope during this challenging time.

The last 8 months have been really difficult for us all, certainly not how most of us would have envisaged spending 2020. It has been a time of constant loss and adjustment, a profoundly destabilising experience that is hardly made the lighter because we all share in it. To add to it, the recent lockdown in the UK might have increased our feeling of powerlessness, as we seem to be at the mercy not just of a raging virus, but also of our government and our society’s way of handling it – all of these, things beyond our control.

Many of us will therefore be more at risk than ever to fall prey to anxiety and/or depression. To help with that, here are 10 suggestions for things you can do:

1. Be compassionate with yourself – remember, it’s okay not to be okay

It is not uncommon to feel guilty and to think ‘But I still have my job, at least, even if I’m furloughed, while so many others have lost theirs’... or ‘ I have the company of the family I live with, while so many people are alone’… or ‘At least I’m healthy when so many others are ill’... or ‘I have my nice comfortable house and my garden when others are stuck in flats with no outdoors space’.

However, just because your troubles are not as big as other people’s doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Maybe you miss your job and the day-to-day activity… or perhaps you are unable to see family that you don’t live with, or friends whose company you really enjoy… perhaps you’ve had to cancel yet another holiday that you were really looking forward to… or you are feeling generally depressed and apathetic about life. Even if you can’t necessarily put a finger on why you are feeling down, it is important to acknowledge it if you are. Your feelings matter. You matter. Give yourself the space to feel your feelings, and the compassion to take them seriously.

2. Have a daily routine

Especially if you don’t have to go out to work (perhaps because you have been furloughed, or are retired or even, sadly, because you have lost your job) it can be so easy to let time just wash over you, to the effect that hours and days can seem to be blending into one. However, while it is no doubt good to give yourself permission to have a pyjama / sofa day every once in a while, the lack of structure or routine can also lead to a general feeling of apathy and depression. To combat this, make a schedule for every day, time your meals, your chores and your fun activities. It can be extremely satisfying to have a ‘To do’ list that you can tick through at the end of the day: when there are no big things to do, even the small accomplishments can help you to feel good about yourself.

3. Make sure you get some exercise every day

Exercise is helpful at the best of times, but even more now, when we are likely more sedentary than usual, and more tempted to just sit on the sofa with a bar of chocolate or a bag of crisps…

Doing at least 30 minutes exercise every day can be a real mood booster. You can find so many free workouts that you can follow along on YouTube: HIIT routines, cardio sequences, Yoga, Pilates, stretching… the options are almost endless. Or you could go out for a run or a light jog, or even just a fast paced walk, which would give you the chance to connect with nature and take in some fresh air.

Exercise is known to be very beneficial in the case of depression, as the endorphins (substances produced by the body during exercise) interact with the receptors in our brain that reduce our perception of pain. They also induce a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine, and can be accompanied by a generalised positive and energising outlook on life. (And, of course, unlike morphine, they don’t cause addiction or dependence).

4. Make sure you get a healthy amount of sleep

Too much or too little sleep can have a negative impact on our brain, and therefore, on our mood. Try to go to bed at a reasonable hour and, even if you have nothing to get up for, set an alarm and make yourself get out of bed. This will contribute to the sense of the healthy routine.

If you struggle with insomnia (these are stressful times indeed, so this can happen more than usual), consider trying meditation and/or herbal remedies. Try to avoid using at your mobile phone or any other form of screen, as the blue light can actually further reduce your ability to sleep.

5. Have a healthy diet

While chocolate and alcohol can have their purpose, (and they have probably become even more popular as means to keep us going throughout this very strange time), it is important to make sure you fuel your body adequately. Eat fruit and vegetables, take vitamins (vitamin D in particular is known to be a natural immunity booster that can enhance your resistance to COVID-19), eat healthy proteins and complex carbohydrates, and try to limit your consumption of sugar and processed foods. A poor diet can be responsible not only for weight gain and health troubles, but it can also affect our general mood and well-being.

6. Practice (or take up) meditation and mindfulness

When the world around us is so full of uncertainty and turmoil, it can be a good time to pause and reflect. Meditation and mindfulness can help still our body and mind, they can help regulate our emotions, make us less quick to react and more flexible in our responses to what goes around us.

There are a lot of meditation apps around, such as:

Calm calm.com

Insight Timer insighttimer.com

Smiling Mind smilingmind.com.au

Stop, Breathe and Think stopbreathethink.com/meditations

or 10% Happier tenpercent.com

Give them a try and find something that works for you. You might be surprised!

7. Journal regularly

Writing down your thoughts and feelings as they come to you can be an immensely beneficial experience. You might feel stressed out, anxious, or you might just want to scream… a journal can take all that and more and writing things down can help you to process them better.

Another helpful technique can be to start a gratitude journal. Instead of focussing on all the things that aren’t going well right now, think about the positives in your life. Write down five things you are grateful for every day – these can be big or small things. This can help you not only reframe your experiences but also to look at the world around you differently.

8. Take up a new hobby … or rekindle an old one

Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn a new language, or how to knit / crochet / do embroidery, or perhaps you’re interested in photography, drawing or painting… There are so many possibilities, and whether you’re an ‘old hand’ at it or a complete beginner, there are a lot of websites and YouTube channels that give step by step instructions of both basic and complex techniques.

Having the time to do something you enjoy can be an enriching experience in itself, but how much more proud of yourself will you feel when you can say you have now acquired a skill you didn’t have before?

9. Reach out to others

Just because we are not able to see each other face to face, this doesn’t mean we have to hide away in hibernation. People are made for connection, and we need each other. Maybe you are ‘all zoomed out’ due to all those work meetings, or maybe you are worried that your friends or family already have their own troubles so you don’t want to bother them… But consider how you would like it if people reached out to you, and be brave enough to take the first step. Now can be a really good time to send a message to someone you haven’t spoken to in years, or to send that email that you’ve been meaning to write, or to pick up the phone and reach out to a friend, whether old or new. Or you could even consider volunteering for charities that need people to reach out as ‘befrienders’ to the lonely.

You could really make someone’s day, and the best thing about giving is how much we receive in return by just seeing how much this has meant to another person. Reach out – you don’t have to go through this difficult time alone, even if you are living on your own.

10. Consider going for counselling

This can be a very good time for self-discovery and personal enrichment. You can take this time for yourself, to focus on yourself and to understand your needs and motivations better, to find out what really makes you tick. Counselling can provide a safe space to do this, and also to process all the difficult and confusing feelings that you might be going through at the moment. Do not hesitate to get in touch if you want to find out more!