Lockdown or no lockdown, our mental health is important. However during times like this, a lot of people are going to struggle more than usual with their mental health.
It is a very scary and uncertain time for everyone at the moment, as the world is being faced with a global pandemic. This can be enough to damage a persons mental health. The uncertainty, followed by so much negativity all over the news can really have an impact on how a person feels. It can create anxiety and depression as people feel isolated and alone whilst they are worrying about how much worse things could get before they get better.
There are thousands of people who have lost their jobs or who are working from home during this time. Losing your job at any time can be detrimental to your mental health, but losing your job during a global crisis, and not being able to find a new job with so many companies and businesses being closed, it adds extra pressure and worries onto you.
Working from home may not sound so bad for some people, many people will enjoy working from home, they may have a nice home office to sit in and get their work done with all the high tech gadgets needed to make their day run smoothly. Or working from home could feel like hell. Some people have young children, making it hard to work from home as they want to spend time with their children whilst they are right there next to them. Some people may not have a nice relaxing office space to work in, some may have awful wifi connection at home, or no wifi at all, making it next to impossible to get their work done. Working from home can make someone feel very lonely. Some people use going to work as an escape, something that keeps them busy and stops them from over thinking… but working from home can make it difficult to switch off that part of the brain.
Many countries are in ‘lockdown’, restricting people from leaving their homes, unless they are exercising (for one hour per day), or going to the supermarket for essentials. People are not allowed to see anyone who does not live within their household, this means they are unable to meet friends or visit other family members. This can have a huge impact on our mental health, especially if you live alone or if you have sick relatives who you are unable to visit. Elderly people in care homes are struggling as they are not allowed to have visitors, grandchildren are missing their grandparents, sons and daughters missing their parents, people missing their friends and so on and so forth.
I thought that I was quite an introverted person until we were put into lockdown. I soon realised how much I take going out of the house for granted. I realised that I enjoy driving to new and random places, going to walks around parks, going to the cinema and for coffee with friends, going to weekly quiz nights… all simple little things, but now that they are not accessible, I feel lonely, I miss my friends, I miss sitting in my Grandma’s for hours chattering about the world and watching Game Shows on TV over multiple cups of tea, I miss randomly turning up at my mums house for a chat and to see the sausage dogs… I miss my life!
I am fortunate in the sense that I live with my partner, I have a roof over my head, food on the table, a mobile phone and social media to stay in touch with friends and family… there are a lot of people who are in a worse position than me, so if my mental health is suffering, there must me millions of other people who are suffering too.
I want everyone to know that they are not alone in this, there will always be someone willing to listen to you and support you. My inbox is always open on my social media pages and of course my emails. I am also writing to multiple pen pals at the moment as hand writing and decorating letters can be quite therapeutic and there is something nice about receiving personalised letters in the mail. If you would like to be one of my pen pals you can add your details to my Postable Account; I do have a limit as to how many people I will be writing to at a time, which will be on a first come first serve basis, but I will get around to writing to more people in future! I will leave the link at the end of this post.
Look out for your friends and loved ones, check in on them more than usual, do what you can for them during this time. Video call with people, write letters, drop them a text, give them a call… just reach out to them! If you care about someone, show them and tell them, put your differences aside, make amends with people, life is way too short and too uncertain to hold grudges.
Take care of yourselves and Have Hope Always,
from Aimee & Co
Postable – Click here to leave your details on my portable account if you would like to be a penpal (UK only at the moment please)
