As this week marks the fourth week of us stepping outside to cheer on our NHS, there is word of Lockdown being lifted in the UK.
It appears to be speculation at the moment, but with deaths in the UK still on the rise... are we ready to have the weight lifted?
As a nation we have been in Lockdown, officially, for 4 weeks and this Thursday we will find out more about our current situation, it has been rumored to last another 3 weeks, until 7th May.
The Lockdown has since been lifted in China and parts of Europe and I'm sure it would be a dream come true for the UK too. Summer is not yet here and so the weather is still slightly too cold to enjoy from our window sills or balconies and I doubt that I am alone in being concerned about what happens when we do finally step outside and expose ourselves for longer periods of time.
Surely our immune systems will be a bit off track, our bodies not as we want them, our energy levels will suffer during the day, maybe even our attention spans... with the death toll rising to 11,000 (717 in the past 24 hours) are we any closer to being out of the woods?
...and how is everyone else Dealing with Cabin Fever?
On a lighter note we do have the option to have some mild composure to the outside world. We can have our 1 hour of exercise a day, plus we can walk the dog and go out for our essential shopping. As Spring gets into full swing and the sun shines through my window, these daily allowances of venturing outside seem less and less but we are all doing this together to safe each other.
If we look on the bright side, that run, walk or trip to the shops can be a way to distance yourself from the person you are living/stuck with, I enjoy the company of mine but we can have too much of a good thing sometimes and that vital trip alone might be the best thing to clear the mind (I highly recommend a run or a jog).
Are you learning anything new? With the boredom along with the issues of going outside, we can make the most of our time inside. Baking, or cooking in general can be very therapeutic, maybe if you live with friends, family or partner you can go for your distancing/ time out run, or trip to the shops and then come back to cook with those that you are surrounded by (video calling can also make this a social event!)
Here are a few things that can be done throughout the day/week:
- We enjoyed a homemade Lasagne and it was the best!
- Decluttered clothes and bagged up for charity
- Been for a run
- Sang along to Disney tunes
- Cleaned the house
- Downloaded a course
- shared my thoughts through Blog posts
- reached the bottom of the laundry basket
Admittedly these things will not be done every single day, so we can space things out to keep ourselves occupied but at what other time would we have the chance to get these things done at our leisure.
Do something that you need or want to do, create your process and you can do it at your own pace, I expressed my attempt at this in my last post "Quarantine Qualms".
Writing a journal or a blog post/video diary can be therapeutic and sharing these things might actually help others feel not so alone, it can also make great reading at other times in your life and want to remind yourself how you dealt with something. A journal can be anything that you want to come back to; a mood and how you overcome that way you were feeling, a recipe and what went right or wrong.
Use the weekend as time to catch up on what you miss during the week and then write a list for the following week of what you need to catch up on as well as new things that you want to get done.
During these times we need to maintain routine and purpose.
As we move forward, I feel that we will come out of this more positive, more supportive to life around us. We can compare all day long people and their lifestyles but there are plenty of things here and now to put into perspective.
Whilst money can create choices, health and happiness cannot be bought, we will always find ourselves in situations that make us equal.
#staysafe #stayhome #savelives
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