Managing your mental health in a second lockdown

Practitioners share personal lessons and advice on managing home and work life in a second lockdown.

Gavin Harris, a freelance PR, led a conversation in a community that I run about managing mental health during lockdown two weeks ago. He lives in Swansea and was making plans as Wales entered lockdown.

It’s a hugely supportive group. More than 40 practitioners from around the world shared lessons from the first lockdown.

The discussion covered a range of practical advice from activity and exercise to music and audio, and from living with uncertainty and lessons from other countries.

Here are the highlights.

Activity and exercise

“Exercise, routine. Set your intentions the night before and remind yourself when you get up.”
Nicola Osmond-Evans

“Exercising helped me through the first lockdown and I’m still in the routine of two to three times a week going for a run or workout.”
Luisa Robertson

“I dropped the expensive gym membership I never used and have walked for an hour every day since March.”
“Natalie Trice

Highly recommend yoga.”
Julian Christopher

“Zoom classes in collage and gentle yoga. The collage helped me express myself without having to find words, and in doing so helped me process what I was going through at the time and the yoga kept me grounded.”
Helen Keegan

Spend time with animals and in nature

“Spend time outside getting into nature. I live by the sea and do breathing exercises to the sound of waves. But walking in the woods is great too.”
Mandy Pearse

“If you haven't got a dog, try borrowing one for walks. The owner will thank you. I agree about the need to bookend the working day with fresh air. I'm terrible for not doing this.”
Nigel Sarbutts

“We have dogs and daily walks are key for all of us in our house. But also, just getting out in nature and taking it all in, really helps. If you need to focus take a sketch pad or camera to make records.”
Katie Marlow

“It's all about getting out and exercising, and really connecting with nature. During the first lockdown, I got a bit obsessed with the 'Seek' app, which identifies plants and flowers. It was really grounding and meditative to go for an hour's walk and identify lots of plants, trees, and flowers.”
Jamie Summerfield

Humour and entertainment

“Watch funny things and have a belly laugh as often as possible.”
Nicola Osmond-Evans

“I highly recommend watching Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing on iPlayer. Beautiful scenery, important health messages and silly, heart-warming banter.”
Claire Newell

“Follow @dog_rates if you don't already - it's the 21st century equivalent of [A.A.Milne’s quote] ‘nobody can be uncheered with a balloon.’”
Julian Christopher

“Some Netflix series - Ozark and now Fargo - not cheery particularly but gripping.”
Lynn Prime

“For me it is making sure I do something every day totally unrelated to the real world that requires me to concentrate on it. Reading fiction and playing video games are the best.”
Stuart Bruce 

Music and audio

“Listen to as much music as you can. Classical is in my blood but sometimes you have to put something in that gets you dancing around your kitchen.”
Kate Hartley

“Try listening to relaxing music. I found music by [searching for] "piano relaxing music". Just sit, do nothing, and listen.”
Tanya Le Roux

“I used Headspace guided sessions for relaxation/sleep at night and whenever I needed a bit of a boost during the day.”
Charlie McAdam

“Exercise and get outside for walks as much as possible. Meditation app when anxiety building. Try and stay off the booze.”
Katy Joy Whitelaw

“I listen to podcasts about things I love whilst running. Really frees and resets the brain. Also started doing meditation and a bit of yoga with a group of people.”
Mark Dye

“Classical music is a great blood pressure reducer and has terrific results with people suffering from PTSD.”
Charlotte Tomic

“Audiobooks are good for silencing your thoughts while walking... although sometimes you miss out on the beauty of peace in nature then.”
Luisa Robertson

Mental health and wellbeing

“Try Wellbeing in the Workplace from The Lord Mayor’s Appeal and Samaritans. Fab resource.”
Francesca Baker

“CBT thought records can be a powerful firebreak for those difficult moments.”
Rod Cartwright

“During the first lockdown I made a list of all the positive aspects of the situation (and ended up with more than I thought). I also listened to a lot of music (one of the aforesaid positive aspects) and made a playlist of some of the tracks which really stood out. And lockdown was absolutely made for reading so put together a list of books you haven’t got round to reading yet and get ready.”
Howard Walker

“Daily walk, your fav music and smells, Jigsaws, board games reading.”
Michelle Atkinson

“Daily walking, soothing night time walks in the cold, still air and silence, comedy podcasts and home maintenance jobs.”
Alan Morrison

Routine and work life boundaries

“Within my routine, I do one thing every day that’s non-routine. It helps spark the creativity and switches my mind on and off. I’ve had some garden and workshop projects that kept me going during the first lockdown.”
Nick Zea-Smith

“Walk round a park or estate before and after work to help create a boundary, physically and mentally.”
Gemma Dawn

Living with uncertainty

“It’s important to give yourself permission to sack it all off every now again, without beating yourself up or feeling like a failure.”
Sean Fleming

“It’s not feasible to be firing on all cylinders all day every day at the best of times, and these are quite obviously not the best of times. Reminding ourselves that we will have off days, and that’s totally fine, is important.”
Becky Green

“Have read, slept, listened to gentle music and spent time in the fresh air with friends.”
Rachelle Michaels

Learning and craft

“For me, the spring and summer period was a combination of learning new languages, meditating, going for long walks, rediscovering the bass guitar, and napping like an absolute pro. Some days it was mostly the latter and once I'd learned to allow myself those kinds of days, I seemed to need fewer of them.”
Sean Fleming

“I love knitting in the winter and my specialty is big chunky blankets, so I will be cracking on with that again. Knitting keeps me warm, sends me to sleep, gives me a beautiful piece to be proud of and helps to curb my phone addiction too. Journaling, which I started on 23 March also works for me.”
Katie Marlow

“Baking, daily walk, volunteering, Tim Burgess’ #timstwitterlisteningparty and keeping in touch with pals has kept me sane so far.”
Debbie Sharratt

Community

“I signed up to take part in #KindnessByPost is such a great idea and I got lots out of writing to a stranger and receiving surprise posts too.”
Caroline Kirk

“The local resident’s association formed a WhatsApp group. It has been brilliant for mutual support. One of the more elderly neighbours writes a poem every single day. I don't always agree with what she has written but I like that she does it and publishes it for us every day.”
Helen Keegan

“Connect with your neighbours. Our street did a socially distant coffee morning outside twice a week. Everyone sat outside their own houses and shouting at each other. Not so easy in wet weather by okay on cold, dry days. We are a particularly friendly street - I know the residents of all 30 houses by name. It means there is always a friendly face nearby.”
Sarah Stimson

Lessons from other countries

“We’re a week into Lockdown 2 in the Netherlands. Exercise is keeping me sane (gyms are still open). But unlike the last time it’s cold and dark out so it’s going to be a tougher slog this time.”
Sharon O'Dea

“We’ve been in lockdown 2.0 in Melbourne, Australia, for more than 100 days.

I can’t tell you how disappointing it was to do well with the numbers in the first lockdown to see it then take off at such a rate that we were all shut down again for a second round.

As difficult as it is seeing people flouting the rules, remember your sacrifice is for the greater good of the community and just try not to get angry about the jerks and keep doing the right thing yourself.

“Look after yourself by eating well and exercising. Don’t be too hard on yourself with trying to get loads done if you’re lucky to still have work, lower the bar a bit. I changed my clothes most days to differentiate between the end of the ‘workday’ and the rest.”
Rita Zonius

“I started collecting sunrises, trying to walk around early in the mornings to find the best spots in Riga. I decided in April to spend a month solo trekking which I did eventually in July walking 560km along the Baltic sea coast from Lithuanian border to Riga.”
Dagnija Lejiņa