![]() ![]() Aside from the financial hit that you take by having your pay decreased, you’ve no longer a reason to wake up in the morning. “Being suddenly told that you are no longer needed at work is hard. Jack told us how he has struggled to find another sense of purpose for his day whilst in lockdown and the effect it’s had. The sudden loss of the structure which a 9-5 working day provides can be difficult. It’s nice to have something to look forward to, it’s important for your own mental health, and it’s no good punishing yourself, it doesn’t help anyone.” At first, I felt really guilty about whether I should be enjoying myself when the world isn't in a great place, but then I realised that it’s ok. “I try to remind myself that it’s important to have a bit of fun. I also went back through my old CBT notes, and write down my worries on paper so that I can distinguish between worries that I can have some control over, and those that I can’t. ![]() If I don’t do my non-negotiable activities, that’s when I notice myself starting to feel bad again. Negotiable activities are things like reading for 20 minutes, walking 5,000 steps a day – they’re nice to have, but they aren’t essential to my mood. Non-negotiable activities include things like getting dressed, eating three meals a day, some kind of movement. I have a list of non-negotiable and negotiable activities that I can do in a day. “Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve felt much better and getting into a new routine has helped me a lot. It’s ok to say that you need a bit of time to yourself.” I now make sure that I have proper breaks away from ‘scheduled calls’ and am honest with my friends when I postpone them. There’s suddenly 10 days’ worth of calls scheduled in the diary, on top of my calls from meetings at work, making me feel very attached to my phone when I don’t want to be. “Everyone seems to want to keep in touch over FaceTime, and in theory it’s lovely to keep in contact, but I’ve found that this can get to be a bit too much. At first I was a roll out of bed into my second set of pjs kind of person, but the difference it’s made is huge I can’t advise this enough. Everyone tells you to get dressed to start your day off. I now make sure that I get up at eight every day, take time away from my screen and go out for a walk to section off my working day from my evening. In just a couple of days I was able to see things a little clearer. There’s no shame in saying you need help. I phoned the GP to explain how I’d like to return to my original dose and that’s what I did. “But I got help because I was able to recognise this time round that it was what I needed. ![]() It was all people could talk about and I felt the positive mindset that I’d worked hard for start to slip away. Then the stress of COVID-19 hit, affecting everything from home, work, and my mental health. I decided to come off my anti-depressants and was working with the GP to lower my dose before coming off them entirely. “Just before the coronavirus (COVID-19) reached the UK I was in a much better place than I had been for a while. She sought the help she needed to enable her to create a new routine with a clear mind. With a pre-existing mental health condition Laura found that the pandemic acted as a trigger for a number of her anxieties. ![]()
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