There’s nothing wrong with feeling a little bit overwhelmed during lockdown or sudden changes caused by COVID-19. Lots of people are struggling. In Britain there’s an increase in mental health problems due to COVID-19. These stats are not surprising. A pandemic is something most of us have never dealt with in their lives. It causes anxiety, loneliness and an increase of violence in homes.
However, following public health guidelines is very important. To protect the mental health during lockdown, people must learn to cope with this new situation. It’s a tough situation. But there are lots of things individuals can do to cope with the circumstances and ease the on-going suffering.
1. Invest in Your Relationship
Most people find it hard to continue a stable relationship when being together all the time. Small discussions can concur and before you know, you don’t feel the spark you used to. That’s why it’s so important to keep investing in your relationship. Take the time to surprise one another.
Date nights are of course not as easy to manage as before. With the children home 24/7 and most restaurants closed, there’s little to do. Think of other ways to surprise your partner. Surprise them with sex toys and spice things up in the bedroom, cook a 3-course dinner or go out for a long social-distancing walk. There’s plenty you can do while following the public health guidelines.
2. Keep in Routines
Suddenly there aren’t any meeting to go to, you don’t even need to go to work. Sleeping in feels great the first few nights, but eventually this will have an tremendous effect on your mental well-being. Losing routine is devastating. That’s why it’s best to keep your schedules and routines the way they were before the pandemic. Keep getting up early, dress yourself (don’t stay in sweatpants the whole day!), set times for regular meals and set an early bedtime.
3. Don’t Become Isolated From Others
Since the beginning of the pandemic we were told to keep social distance from others. This expression is false. Because it’s not necessary to social distance us from others. Only physical we can’t be near each other. That doesn’t mean we can’t be social. People need to be social in order to survive these pandemic. Luckily there’s much we can do to keep in contact with the people we love. For example by FaceTime, video conferencing or simple phone calls. Have Zoom parties with friends and family and enjoy your social time together.