Lockdown Blues: How to Keep Your Health and Wellbeing in Check

Life as we know it has come to a standstill. Up and down the country, closed signs adorn our high streets, schools are closed indefinitely to most students and working from home has become the new normal. Unprecedented at this stage feels like an understatement. 

Anxiety, overwhelming feelings and sadness have crept into many of our thoughts. Fuelled by fear, and being cut off from our loved ones – it’s no wonder our health and mental wellbeing has taken a beating. So what can you do to overcome your lockdown blues? Let’s have a look:

Talk to your employer

Currently, nearly 10 million of the UK’s residents are tied into the furlough scheme. Others have lost their jobs entirely. Then you have all the “essential” workers keeping the country running on the frontline: NHS workers, teachers, supermarket employees and more. Throw in the self-employed and there are a lot of things to feel concerned about.

If you are employed in any sector, you have the right to talk to your employer about how you are feeling. Although you don’t have to get too personal with your conversation, you are free to discuss any financial worries and find out more about your sick and benefit rights. 

Take advantage of your daily exercise

Despite the hard lockdown conditions, you are allowed to still go out. Although the list is limited, getting out for your daily exercise can help give you a little boost everyday. Whether you take up running, cycling or simply go out for a walk, your mental wellbeing will be all the better for it. 

Exercise is a natural anti-anxiety treatment. As soon as you get your heart pumping, your body releases those happy-loving endorphins – relieving stress and tension, as well as giving you a powerful physical and mental energy boost. Letting your mind focus on your surroundings, the wind on your skin, and the rhythm of your breathing can help you to interrupt the worries coursing through your mind. 

If you’re a parent, utilising that one bit of exercise a day has its own set of challenges attached. So try and mix it up where you can. Explore your local area with your children – find nature trails, have a well walk or have a stop at a playpark. Your little ones need to release all their spent up energy too, and a change of scenery is food for the soul. 

Finding time for you

Family life, working from home and finding purpose in our day to day all come with their own set of pressures. Finding time and space for yourself may feel like one of the biggest hurdles. With a few small tweaks to your day, there are ways of stealing moments for yourself:

• Set an alarm: break up your working day into intervals, e.g. work for 45 minutes, and then move to a different space for 15 minutes (garden, living room, walk around the block)
• Switch off your screen: everyday, take a moment to switch off all your screens. Read a book, do a craft, have a bath!
• Take it in turns: if you have a partner or spouse, take everything from homeschooling to house chores in turns. That way the responsibility isn’t just on you – you’re in it together!
• Do a HITT workout at home: get your heartbeat raising in your living room!

Getting away from it all, isn’t really an option anymore. But taking yourself off for a long soak in the bath, or creating a DIY spa is all possible at home. You’ll thank us later.

The importance of vitamins

With more of our time spent indoors, our bodies are all feeling the effects. Time out of the sun is reducing our much-needed vitamin D intake, and for some of us, our diets have become something to be desired – where quick and easy has taken priority over all else, including vegetables! 

Vitamins help our bodies to function properly. They help our immune systems fight off bugs and viruses, as well as helping our cells restore and replenish vessels and more. 

Strengthening your body’s natural defence should be a top priority right now. Taking a liposomal vitamin c will help keep your bones, cartilage and teeth healthy. It’s also a powerful antioxidant, which is responsible for the growth, development and repair of every tissue in your body. 

Eating a varied diet, packed full of vitamin rich foods like strawberries, oranges, spinach, cereals and yogurts will also improve your wellbeing. With an increase in our online activities, check out recipe mood boards and find some inspiration to keep you motivated!

Make time for friends

Do you remember the last time you hugged anyone outside your home? The last moment you laughed so hard with your friends you cried? For some of us it’s been a long while since we’ve seen or heard from our loved ones. Distance, circumstances and more have all impacted some of our strongest relationships. 

Although relying on your screen may not be ideal, there is a plethora of messaging and video call apps now available. Anything from having a virtual chat to a full on quiz is all possible. So, make time for your friends! 

Ready to defeat your lockdown blues? Getting out and about has never been so important. Making the smallest change to your day may give your health and wellbeing the boost it needs to get you through this challenging time. What changes are you going to make first?