When Covid19 started, I do not think any of us imagined how it would affect the world. Suddenly, thoughts of the unknown became quite scary and picturing how our life’s and those around us became reoccurring thoughts.
For those of us that suffer from mental illness, it was in a sense, even more troubling as we have scary thoughts often anyway. To add those to Covid-19 thoughts were disturbing.
When we first went into lockdown in England, I was quite worried. Boris Johnston in his speech told the nation that we can only go out for exercise once a day and must work from home for the forceable. I was fixed to the TV and suddenly felt very vulnerable. Some of the activities I enjoy in my spare such as eating out, trips to London, going to lots of gigs and festivals were about to be taken away from me. These activities were the same ones that helped keep my mind clear and stopped me
thinking of bad thoughts.
I said to myself, I have got to keep calm, keep distracting myself and find things to keep my mind busy. I am an active runner anyway, so I decided that no matter what, I would run or walk once every day. I found this was great as after working all day, I could forget everything, stick in my earphones and run somewhere different to escape the world.
I also bought some Lego and computer games, as well as finding other ways to keep distracted. One of the most important things was to keep talking to my friends. Myself and my brother would have weekly virtual takeout meals on a Saturday evening with one of our friends, which was lovely. I’m also very close with 3 of my friends from work, and we would ensure that we met every Friday night for a virtual pub catchup.
Covid19 is not over by any means and trying to keep strong every day is a must. I have surprised myself with how well I have coped so far. However, I never rest on my laurels and each day is still a coping day. It is also more than that though, it is also about helping others around you.
By going through my own experiences, I tend to pick up on when other people are struggling too. I think Covid19 has in a way heightened those senses as I see far more people than ever experiencing some dark times.
We’re in this together though and I’m proud to still be here each day fighting.
