Hello humans and dogs (but mostly the dogs, I don't like people)
So, we have been in Lockdown 2 for just over a week now.
Kinda sucks doesn’t it?
I think this one is going to be harder because it’s colder outside, it’s darker more often and unless you’re essential working or shopping; you can’t really hang outside. Well unless you want to stand in a socially distanced spot on your own in the pissing rain.
I for one, do not.
If I’m being honest, not much has changed for me. Because the schools are still open; I go to work, I come home, I do chores and watch tv then I go to work again.
What I’m trying to say is that, I wasn’t much of an outside person even before Covid decided to f*ck up the planet. But even I can feel the difference this time round.
It’s hard to stay cheerful when the sky is as dark as your mood.
But that’s what I wanted to talk about.
You don’t have to be cheerful. What you do have to do is take care of yourself.
Whether you are prone to poor mental health or not, self-care is going to be more important that ever over the next month or so, especially for those with pre-existing mental health conditions like me.
Now, that looks different for everyone. Everyone looks after themselves and creates positivity in different ways. You have to find what works for you, not just do what your favourite celebrity tweets every now and then.
But I think now is the perfect time to be more than a little hypocritical and make some suggestions of my own (But I’m not doing it on twitter so it’s fine).
These are just a few things that I have found work for me most of the time.
1. Drink more water. When I am depressed, or even when I’m just regular old sad, I eat. It’s partly down to my medication but it’s also one of my more self-destructive behaviours. I know this, I am working on it, but I found in Lockdown 1, that if I drank more water whenever Covid had me feeling down; I didn’t over eat as much and that made me feel better in the long run. Just to explain, from what I understand, water is the best way to fill yourself up without eating an insane amount of calories. More water = less excessive eating = feeling better about yourself = feeling better overall.
2. Exercise. I know, I know! Me talking about exercise? Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Ha. While I know it’s laughable to take advise about exercising from a girl who gets out of breath walking upstairs to her room, it really is a good thing. And you have no idea how much it pains me to say that. Look whether or not you believe that physical exercise is good for your mental health, for me personally, it helps kind of indirectly. Much like with the drinking water, doing exercise and knowing that I am doing something to look after myself physically, makes me feel better about myself mentally. And again, feeling better about yourself is always a good way to start improving your mental health. Take charge of the things that you can control. You might not stop world hunger in the next four weeks but you can take steps that just might help you be more positive about yourself. Then you can worry about world hunger. It isn’t selfish to take care of you first. As RuPaul says “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?” Can I get an amen?
3. Do things that make you happy, but do it in regulation. When lockdown 1 hit, I watched maybe six or seven different series in about three weeks. I read two books a week for a month and listened to Christmas music in April because why da F not? Point is, I over did it. A month in I was bored and boredom is not good. Boredom allows your mind to go places you don’t want it to go. So; do what makes you happy. Sing Dance Bake Watch tv Read (I’d recommend reading) Watch goddamn cat videos on YouTube! It doesn't matter as long (it's legal and) it makes you happy. But don’t over do it. Ever heard of the phrase; too much of a good thing? (I think it’s something like that, Idk, should have checked before I started writing this, OOPS!)
4. All of this combines into my last point. ROUTINE. Set yourself a routine. BUT… Don’t be afraid to change it if needed. Does that make sense? Like, you can’t do the exact same thing every damn day, but structure is really helpful and important, which is why if I ever seem on edge to you, odds are my routine was changed haha. Or I need a nap, one of the two, but my point still stands. So maybe don’t plan your day to the minute but do something like: - Plan what you’re going to eat for the coming week. - Schedule in a break if you’re working from home. - Pick a couple days where you know 100% you are definitely going to exercise by getting out of the house for a walk. Something like that.
And that’s all I got really my dudes. Believe me I’m still trying to figure this sh*t out too.
Look, I’m not trying to dictate what to do in your life.
If you wanna slog out and watch Take Me Out re-runs until December you do that and do it with pride my friend.
I just know that that doesn’t work for me.
It won’t work for a lot of people.
So why not try something different?
Be safe.
Be kind.
Geronimo xx
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