Tips to help you through a potential second lockdown!

What's going on people! I hope you are keeping safe and well! It feels like it has been so long since I last posted! I have had this topic in my mind for a while and after the news from the government yesterday regarding all of our situations, I thought it would be good to discuss tips that I think could help you all amazing people if there was a second lockdown and for anyone who is currently in lockdown. Let's get started!

Meditation

Meditation is honestly one of the best ways to clear your mind when you are feeling any kind of stress and anxiety. (I spoke about mediation in my first ever post about helping with sleep, check it out on the homepage!) I feel this is not spoken about as much as it should be as many people seem to turn away from this type of method. But it has scientifically proven to help keep our minds clear and healthy. I really was unsure about meditation, even when my therapist recommended it to me over a year ago. Anyway, I decided to give it a go and it really did help with my anxiety levels and stress. There are many different types of meditation and I think once you find one that is right for you, doing this at least once a day as part of your routine, it will just become second nature to you. Especially if we are in lockdown again, keeping your mind clear is vital! Give this a go and let me know how you get on.

Keep in close contact with Friends and Family!

One main thing that really helped me through lockdown before was talking to my close friends and family on a very regular basis. This really did help to keep my mood and spirits up during such a tough time. Me and my good mates would actually have a daily facetime call to catch up and make sure we were all doing okay. I would also do the same with family members too like my grandparents, brother etc. Talking to people who mean a lot to you will always help you in your mindset. Keeping yourself shut away from talking to others when you are low is dangerous in itself, and is even more dangerous during a lockdown. Make sure that you are in even more contact when loved ones if we are in another lockdown.

Keep Active each day!

Keeping active, as I have said in many other posts, is so important! Not just for your physical health but more importantly your mental health. Even during lockdown as difficult as it is to keep active doing even small workout or things at home will help a lot, it definitely did for me during lockdown! I would do a 10 minute workout everyday. Just do what you feel comfortable with! But I feel it is important to do some form of exercise, it helps so much! Good for your physical and mental health, like I always say! It is a win win!!!

Plan your day

Planning your day during a lockdown might sound stupid because what is there to do? I felt this way but towards the end of lockdown I started to do this and really wished I had done it sooner. This can really help balance out the day for you and put some structure back into your life while being at home. Before all this madness we all had a structure for everyday life so keep this one in mind if we do get to another lockdown stage. This really will help keep a balance! This does not have to be done as a complete bang on hour to hour structure but just write things down in your phone or on a pad what you would like to do during the morning, afternoon, evening and night.

Read a book

This is another one that I put on my helping you to sleep better post but I feel this one is so important especially during lockdown! Reading has really helped me to relax and take my mind off things that are going on in my life. I usually read books about mental health or regarding other people's life experiences as it really helps me to see the bigger picture at times when I am in a negative head space. Reading helped me a lot during lockdown, I am not the biggest reader but even reading for 15+ minutes every night or every other night does a world of good for you! And like I have said before, if you don't, give it a try! I would really recommend to anyone, even if you are not a big reader.

Remember we are all in this together!

It can be so easy to forget this one, especially when you are feeling really down. So it is always good to remind yourself, we are all in this together. Everyone is going through the same process which makes it even more of a reason to do whatever you can to help others during a difficult period. I find helping others really does help me at the same time too! Everyone coming together and looking out for one another is key to us all getting through this! Never forget you are not alone!

Be open with your emotions!

The most essential one for last. I always say in my posts how important it is to talk about how you are feeling or what is going through your mind, but it is even more important when we are all in lockdown. The number of people that have been suffering and started to suffer with bad mental health during lockdown was heartbreaking with a rise in suicides too. It is absolutely vital that you speak about how you are feeling, being stuck inside for long periods of time like we all were before can really put anyone in a dark place that no one deserves to be in. Speaking out with always help! Speak to people you can trust and people who care about you! They all want you to be safe and okay just like you do for them. I want you all to be safe and keep well too! So like I always say if anyone needs me I am here for you all. I know it can be tough to open up but small steps are even more important that you think, especially in lockdown.

I hope you all enjoyed today's read! I really hope you are all looking after yourselves during such an uncertain time. I know we all hope it will not come to a second lockdown, if it does we all just need to be as mentally ready as we can be. We can all do this together. For the time being try not to think about another lockdown, just keep yourselves safe and do what we are allowed to do for now. Live for now, it can be so easy to worry about the past and the future in this case. But focus on the now, it is one thing that has been helping me a lot recently. I wish you all an amazing day. Keep your head up and love as always!