How to Keep it Together During Lockdown
None of us are having the best time during lockdown. But, as Comics Youth head honcho Rhiannon Griffiths explains, there are still things you can do to make this experience a little easier on yourself and to move forward with care and kindness…
We are living through a scary and unpredictable global event right now, and you may be having a hard time coping….and that’s ok! There’s a lot of advice flying around the internet at the moment about how to manage your mental health during the crisis. Unfortunately, a lot of that advice assumes you’re an upper-middle-class human bean quarantined in comfortable conditions, and that your biggest issues right now is boredom or low productivity.
ERMMMM…HECK NO!
But what are you supposed to do if your issues with this pandemic run a little deeper than that? What if you are an essential worker being run ragged at an understaffed job? What if your biggest issue right now is not “how do I make this pandemic a productive time for me, creatively and spiritually” but “how do I convince myself to keep going until this is over”?
We won’t pretend to have all the answers - we don’t think anyone does - but we do have a few tips to help you get through this thing without coming completely unraveled:
Focus on your physical needs right now
From now until the pandemic ends, you are effectively a Sim. Your main job is to make sure that all your little mood bars are full. Now is not the time to worry about things like productivity and personal fulfilment - your focus right now is on whether you need a snack, shower, or to change into some more comfortable clothes.
Stock up on easy-to-prepare foods that are high in protein
Not everyone has the time or motivation to be cooking artisan sourdough or banana bread in Lockdown. If you aren’t able to cook healthy meals for yourself, just focus on getting at least three solid sources of protein every day - protein makes you feel fuller and more alert, and is a better choice than low-protein snacks like crisps if you’re struggling to eat every day.
Do a fifteen-minute ‘declutter’ every day
Cleaning may seem like a pretty daunting task right now, and you may not have the time or energy to do it. But living in cluttered surroundings can take an enormous toll on your mental health, and it can be overwhelming if you let things get too bad. Take just fifteen minutes per day to deal with the obvious stuff - bag up the garbage, take all the dirty plates out of your bedroom, wipe up obvious spills, throw out rotting food and put your clothes in the wash. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be liveable.
Find effective distractions
Find things that take your mind off your anxieties, even for a short time. These do not have to be educational or have any self-improvement value whatsoever. If re-watching She-Ra for the 4 millionth time at jet-engine volume is what gets your mind off your worries for an hour, then that is what you are going to watch! Whether its farming tarantulas on Animal Crossing, binging reality TV shows or hours upon hours of YouTube videos, the only thing that matters is that it distracts you.
Limit your exposure to the news
Watching people speculate wildly for hours about how bad the pandemic will be and how many people will die is not healthy. The basic information about this pandemic has not changed - it is bad, it is contagious, you need to wash your hands and you need to stay inside as much as possible. Check the news only for genuinely important public health updates, and then turn it off. Obsessing does not change what is happening. And it does not improve your mental health.
Let friends and family know that you may be in and out
Maintaining relationships requires a lot of energy that you may not have right now and responding to everyone’s messages quickly might just not be possible right now. Let your family and friends know that you care about them, but that you are going through a lot right now and you might take time to answer their messages. Try to have at least some social contact every day with the people who are most important to you, but don’t pressure yourself to keep up with everyone right now.
Block or mute people who share unhelpful ‘motivational’ content on your timeline
You don’t need to be reminded four times per day that Shakespeare wrote King Lear in Lockdown (besides, it was probably Christopher Marlowe..let’s face it 😉 ) Shakespeare didn’t have to work a minimum-wage job in the retail sector whilst people screamed at him because the place had run out of flour. We all have self-righteous people on our social media feeds right now who are lecturing others about the need to “maximize” their time and relentlessly pursue self-improvement during Lockdown. You don’t need that, so mute ‘em! They can bore off.
If you need to pretend the pandemic isn’t happening for a few hours, go for it
Contrary to popular belief, dissociation is not always a bad thing - it’s one of the most basic emotional defence mechanisms we have. If dealing with the reality of the pandemic is too much for you right now, then put your mind somewhere else. Pretend you are the hero of a dystopian novel…..a young Beatrice Prior, if you will. You can mentally deal with the enormity of the pandemic after it’s over - for now, find whatever narrative helps you get through this while still following public health guidelines.
Access domestic violence resources if you need them
If you are experiencing lockdown in a violent situation and you feel your safety is in danger, please remember that domestic violence centres are still open. In an emergency always, ring 999. Using a silent 999 call followed by 55 (or tapping/coughing into the phone) will enable police to respond. The National Domestic Abuse line is also open 24/7 for support: 0808 2000 247
If you need a prescription refill, make arrangements well before you run out of medication
Doctors’ visits for non-essential appointments are seriously limited right now. If you know that you are almost out of prescription refills, call your doctor’s office well ahead of time to let them know, and see if they can renew your prescription without an appointment, or if they can conduct an appointment over Zoom or via phone call. You can also set-up a ‘MY GP’ account (https://www.nhs.uk/apps-library/mygp/) to make medication requests via the app.
Let someone know if you need to be checked on
If you know you aren’t doing well but you don’t necessarily have the energy to talk about it, just let someone close to you know that you would like them to check on you - this could be a weekly check-in to see how you’re doing, a daily reminder that you need to eat dinner, or having them remind you to go to bed if they see you online past a certain time. Figure out what you need, and communicate your needs to someone you can trust.
Find one thing to look forward to every day
Find one tiny thing about tomorrow that’s not going to suck, and hang onto it. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. Maybe you’re going to spend some time fishing on Animal Crossing, or watch an episode of your favourite show. Maybe you’re going to call a friend or read another chapter of a book you’re enjoying. Find something that you can latch onto as a reason to get up tomorrow, no matter how small.
Let yourself rest
If you find that you need a lot more sleep than you normally do, that’s totally fine, and you shouldn’t feel bad or guilty about it. Living in a constant state of high stress is exhausting, and you may find that you need a lot of rest. If you don’t have the energy to do much more than sit in front of the TV and do a few basic chores, that’s fine - you don’t actually need to be spending your spare time reading War and Peace. If you need rest, let your mind and body rest.
Just get through the rest of today
If getting through the rest of the pandemic seems daunting or overwhelming, don’t focus on that. Focusing on getting through the rest of the day. And then tomorrow, get up and do the same thing all over again. Take this situation one day at a time - the key to enduring this is not figuring out how to sustain your mental health for six months all at once, but to focus on sustaining your mental health just for the rest of the day, over and over again.
This pandemic is a scary thing for a lot of people, and we don’t yet know how this will play out or when it will end. But we do know that it will end someday. Do the best you can to take care of yourself, no matter what your circumstances are - we will get through this.
Remember that we love you and are here for you <3