How to Cope With Lockdown Changes

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The last ten months have been anything but normal. Constant changes to what you can and can’t do has left many people confused and yearning for their old lives. We are currently in our third national lockdown, and while this should feel familiar, many people are finding this winter lockdown more difficult than the first. Despite the doom and gloom of the outside world, there are plenty of things you can do to help you feel more at ease.

Give yourself a breather

According to the National Office of Statistics, over half of adults in Great Britain reported that their well-being was affected by the coronavirus pandemic. There’s a lot of overwhelming information, numbers and statistics circulating at the moment, and it’s very easy to feel as though there’s no escape from it. It’s good to stay informed, but you don’t want to become inundated.

Try to avoid speculation and scaremongering, only read reputable and trusted news sources, and don’t believe absolutely everything that you see on social media. The best, and most up-to-date information can be found on the NHS site.

Remember to limit your consumption of news and social media. While it’s true that the situation is constantly changing, you don’t need to be permanently connected. Take a break. Find something to distract you and bring some happiness.

Try to put your phone down occasionally. While it’s important to stay in touch with your loved ones, it’s not healthy to be constantly glued to your screen. Take breaks from your devices and try to spend some time every day when you’re not plugged in.

Look after yourself

Doing what you can to try to keep yourself mentally healthy should be top of everyone’s list. There are plenty of little changes you can make in order to help boost your brain. 

One of the worst feelings is when you’re lying in bed in the morning feeling as though you have nothing to get up for. It may help you to add some structure to your day. This can be as specific as you feel it needs to be.

Try to get up at a regular time every day and follow a similar type of routine. Your life is bound to be different during lockdown, but that doesn’t mean it has to be worse.

If you aren’t happy with your usual routine, then now’s the chance to switch it up and try something new! Always wanted more time to try out new makeup looks or different recipes? Try incorporating new things into your routine and see how you get on.

Planning out what you’re going to do every day will also help you keep distracted and focus on other things in your life. Create a new daily routine that prioritises looking after yourself. You can find an example of a healthy lockdown routine here.

See what else you can do to keep positive here.

Keep yourself busy

Try to view this as a different period of life instead of a bad one. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before, but it will come to an end. We can, and will, get through it.

Keeping yourself mentally and physically healthy will help more than you think. This is a highly stressful time, but you shouldn’t neglect basic self-care. 

Make sure you maintain good hygiene, and that you’re washing your hands after being outside and before handling or eating food.

Drink plenty of water and eat proper meals. Want some easy recipes to try out? Take a look here.

Remember to get enough sleep and keep active where possible. Here are some online home workouts that you can try out, and here’s some useful information on other exercises.

If you go for a walk or run that’s fine, as long as you maintain social distancing.

Need some suggestions of how to pass time in a healthy way? Here’s a list of things to do for your brain, for your home, for your body and with friends. If you fancy trying out some new skills, take a look at this.

Here’s a great bucket list of lockdown friendly things you can do to pass the time. Check our blog out to see how you can keep yourself motivated.

Keep talking

Many of us are dearly missing weekly pints at the pub and morning visits to your favourite cafe for a coffee and a catch-up. Not being able to socialise with the ones we love has been difficult, and because of this we’ve all had to adapt. For now, cosy meals at restaurants and impromptu trips to the cinema aren’t an option, instead we’re all learning to adapt and embrace a virtual world.

It’s important to keep connected with the ones you love. Although you’re distanced in person, you shouldn’t be distanced emotionally. Put in the effort and plan phone calls and video calls with the people you miss— chances are you’ll feel tons better after chatting to your loved ones.

Our virtual socialisation blog has some great ideas that you could try.

We’ve all had a tough time, but there is light on the horizon. The NHS is currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine to the most vulnerable, and hopefully the world will slowly begin to return to normal. For now, the most important thing to do is look after yourself and stay at home.

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