We are officially on lockdown and I feel like I’m under house arrest.
I am trying to make use of all the free time that I have and I realised there are a lot of people I have lost touch with over time and found myself thinking of them at this time.
Everyone is doing the best they can but it will be good to check on each other from time to time.
This is not a time to be visiting each other but staying in contact is possible through phones and social mediums. This is the time to pick up that landline that you haven’t used in years since you got dependent on your mobile phone.
Pick up the phone and check on someone
Check on your friends, the strong, the self sufficient and the ones struggling with their mental health.
Check on your friends that suffer from anxiety and find it difficult to go out and do their shopping without having panic attacks.
Check on your relatives and the elderly around you and the vulnerable if you have their contact numbers. This will be a very scary time for them.
Be nice to the people around you and offer kind words. This is a difficult time for many and some people have shown how stressful situations can turn them into ‘not so nice people’, as some of you may have witnessed it when out shopping during the toilet paper fiasco.
If you are not expected to be at work, please follow the guidelines and stay at home.
If you are working during this difficult time, please follow the personal protection protocols for your safety and your families.
Social distancing, self isolation, quarantine and many more words that encourage people to stay safe during the Covid-19 pandemic have been on the media as schools and businesses shut down and people go on a rampage to buy as much supplies as they can in the event of a lock down.
This is a very scary time for many and like most infectious diseases, the impact of the coronavirus can affect our mental health.
We have been advised by the government to stay at home except to pick up essentials, like food and medication or go to work if you are a stated frontline worker; to avoid being on a group of more than two at any given time and to practice safer hygiene measures like hand washing as soon as we get home if we have been out and before handling all food.
Wash your hands regularly and when you have been in public spaces
It’s upsetting to be asked to stop working, we have bills to pay and its distressing to think of what will happen going forward as no specific timeline has been given, but that we stay on lockdown for 21 days.
However, it may help to look at things a bit differently.
Firstly, use it as a time to rest and reflect. Apart from the frontline workers, most people are at home, some with their families and some alone.
You could create a new routine that fits in with your family and self care.
A lot of parents will be home schooling at this time, so it’s important that they make time to help their children with school work and also have time to rest.
Now is the time to read those books gathering dust on the shelves, trying a new recipe, catching up on movies that you have been wanting to watch for a while.
Rest, read and make time for family
While it’s good to catch up on the news, do not have it on constantly as that will make you more anxious. Don’t trawl social media and internet sites following conspiracy theories and speculation of the illness.
Watching what we eat will be a challenge in the coming weeks. When people are going to work and school they have breakfast, carry a packed lunch or pick up something light then they have dinner at home.
Now, with the lockdown and most people being at home at the same time, it’s so easy to keep going to the fridge or cupboard to grab a snack as and when one feels like.
It will be good to minimise our intake of junk foods and candy because comfort eating will only lead to more stress when people have gained weight after this period.
Eating a healthy balanced diet will be good for your physical and mental health
The gyms have been shut down and people will be wary about going out to exercise even though the government guidelines advise us to do so at least once a day, but there are a lot of YouTube channels where people can get free exercises that are easy enough to do at home and fit it in with their kids.
Staying in touch online, on the phone and on video calls with family and friends that you don’t live with would be helpful during this time of social distancing but do not share or circulate information from unreliable sources as this will cause more anxiety.
Stay in touch with others
Check on your elderly relatives and people that live alone and those that you know are vulnerable because this is going to be a very difficult time for them.
Do not stay up all night binge watching series only to spend all day in bed the next day, that will make you less productive during the day. Create a routine of going to bed and getting up at the same time each day and avoid taking your phone to bed.
Do not self diagnose or self prescribe medications. If you take prescription medication continue taking the stated dosages and do not share medication.
Do not self-medicate
If your feel your mental state is getting worse or you are worried about someone here is a list of things you can do:
You can call NHS 111 if you or someone you know needs urgent care, do not go to A and E or visit doctors surgeries at this time.
If you’re under the care of a mental health team and have a care plan that states who to contact when you need urgent care please do so.
The Samaritans have a free number to call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and you can talk to someone in confidence whenever you need to on 116 123. Calls to this number will not appear on your telephone bills.
Stay safe, stay home; as this will make it easier for the medical teams to do their work and follow the given guidelines, they are there for a reason.
