Personal development

‘Lockdown days’

I’ve wanted to write about the lockdown since… well, since the lockdown began. (How long ago is it? Three weeks? Three years? Three minutes?) But since it all began, my wife and I have been doing our respective jobs full-time from home – hunched over improvised work stations at either end of a not very large flat. We accidentally eavesdrop on each other’s online conferences. We print documents and scribble notes for ourselves and leave them scattered round the place. It feels as if work has spread into every crevice of our dwelling, like an item of home baking that won’t stop rising, even after it has been removed from the oven.

Meanwhile, we have ‘kettle’ rather than ‘water cooler’ chats in the kitchen and carefully monitor one another’s relationship with the fridge, to ensure than it remains a flirtation rather than evolving into a full-blown civil partnership. The radio murmurs in the background, kept low enough not to distract us but loud enough to stop the home atmosphere from becoming completely sepulchral. The only loud noises are emitted involuntarily when, having finished a Zoom or Skype call, one or other of us stands up to go to the loo, forgets that they’re still connected to their laptop by the headphones cord and nearly strangles themselves.

Seven pm, or thereabouts, is dinner time. Hurrah! If it’s not too cold, we open the French windows, which give onto a small iron balustrade and a ledge just wide enough for a few pot plants – or ‘the estate’ as I occasionally refer to it. We have three robust honeysuckle on the ledge and sometimes, if there’s a warm spell in summer and the wind is blowing the right way, they fill our east-facing living room with sublime fragrance. But it’s too early for all that, alas. Will we still be confined to quarters when the first blossoms appear?

We agree that the most surprising aspect of the lockdown so far is just how exhausting a normal working day is when you do it from home. Everything seems to take so much more concentration than normal; everything is heightened and intensified. The remote versions of the IT systems we use intermittently struggle, working at the approximate pace of a tortoise laden with heavy shopping. Our aching necks and backs sing a lament for our office work stations and those ‘ergonomic’ chairs we took for granted. Most mysteriously of all, we both wake every morning with what feels like hangovers, in spite of the fact that neither of us is drinking at the moment and we’re able to sleep in a bit more than normal. I shamelessly suggest that if we have the hangovers anyway, we may as well indulge in the other half of the equation the night before. This idea is taken under consideration.

And every couple of days, we go out for Government-sanctioned exercise! We’ve had some great evening walks around Hyndland and Dowanhill. Three-paned bay windows are filled with the letters ‘N’, ‘H’ and ‘S’, accompanied by rainbows scribbled in crayon (and, in one case, beautifully rendered in coloured post-it notes.) Foxes skulk in the distance, but somehow look marginally less furtive than usual. ‘Only able to go out when no-one else is around?’ they seem to say. ‘Welcome to our world.’ (Colleagues report that their pets have started to fix them with a basilisk stare, as if to say, ‘Don’t you have to be somewhere?’)

We take our time when we’re out, savouring the fresh air, but meander and zigzag a lot, to maintain social distance from our fellow pedestrians. Traced on a map, our average route would resemble the itinerary of a drunk snail. The only challenge is to stay out of the invisible slipstream of suspect particles created by the laboured breathing of joggers as they bear down on us out of nowhere. Otherwise, the chance to see some plum blossom, crocuses and daffodils is a real tonic.

Back home, we have the brave new world of streaming TV to entertain us: lots of ‘prestige’ series, which, I’m told, are shot ‘flat’ on digital video then manipulated in post-production to reproduce the lustrous style that expert movie cinematographers once spent hours painstakingly creating for real with lights and filters. Maybe that explains why watching too many of them feels like being forcefed processed meals. Much better, all things considered, to curl up with a good book, glancing up occasionally to watch the pink super moon rising. What’s that? A pink gin too? I thought you’d never ask!

----------------------------------------------------------- David Cunningham works in the Graduate School and he originally published this piece in Scottish Review. His short stories have appeared in a variety of magazines and have been broadcast on Radio 4. He has also published a novel for teenage readers- CloudWorld- with Faber & Faber.

It’s OK not to be OK

We all have mental health. It’s okay not to be okay. You are likely to feel quite unsettled by what’s happening. Routines have changed and there is a lot of uncertainty. You may be very anxious about loved ones who fall into the high-risk category or who are working in very difficult situations in the front line. You may feel you have lost control of your life. Our day-to-day lives undoubtably have changed. Your feelings are a normal response to these exceptional times. Insomnia, for example, is a normal response. If your anxiety is overwhelming, there are breathing and other exercises you can do.

Grounding

5 things you see around you. 4 things you can touch around you. 3 things you hear. 2 things you can smell. 1 thing you can taste.

Consider how much caffeine you are having

Too much caffeine can make you more anxious. Avoiding coffee, tea, energy drinks and fizzy drinks can help reduce your anxiety.

Social media use

Switch off from social media if you need to. Follow only reputable news sources. For example, Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director, Scottish Government, is a reputable and calming source for updates (@jasonleitch if you’re on Twitter).

Connections

During this physical isolation, it is crucial to maintain connections with others. Know your tribe. Listen to each other.

Working from home

You’re at home, in a crisis, trying to do your work.

Physical and mental health are so closely linked. It’s important to get outside for daily exercise, e.g. walking (at a safe distance from others) (permitted at the time of writing) or inside, e.g. YouTube videos, even if the dog tries to join in.

Routines are very important. On work days, try to get up at the same time, have your usual shower, get dressed etc. Perhaps your exercise could be done in the time you normally commute.

Take regular breaks from the screen. Stop and take notice, e.g. of signs of spring, listen carefully to the sounds around you. Be in the present and breathe deeply, exhaling for as long as you inhale. Stick to a regular bedtime and avoid screens just before bed. If your brain keeps you awake, try a body scan. Start at your head and find any tension in your body, e.g. your forehead, your jaws, your shoulders etc. and relax each part, right down to your toes.

Supporting school-aged children

Maybe you have been sent a whole folder of work, with additional pieces coming via Glow or Google Classroom. However, transition is huge in children’s lives and this is a major transition. Children’s mental health has worsened since the Coronavirus pandemic. Just take the time to settle and reassure them that you are there for their support.

Let them talk about their feelings. Can they play outside or draw a picture or play a game with you? Do some school work if they are ready. Or focus on life skills. Why not try the See Me emoji jukebox: https://feelsfm.co.uk/?

When we return to ‘normal’, teachers will cover everything. You don’t need to feel guilty or the pressure to cover all the work. (You may find that the work, e.g. Maths, has changed a bit since you were at school.) If you are looking for resources, the newly launched BBC Bitesize might help: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

Sources of support

Remember that this is temporary. In the meantime, these may be of help.

SilverCloud - secure, confidential and immediate access to online CBT https://strathclydestaff.silvercloudhealth.com/signup/

Mental health and wellbeing https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/

Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/scotland/samaritans-in-scotland/

See Me https://www.seemescotland.org/about-see-me/

Mental Health Foundation Scotland https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/scotland

Scottish Association for Mental Health https://www.samh.org.uk/

Mind For better mental health https://www.mind.org.uk/

Relate (relationship support) www.relate.org.uk

How to support someone with a mental health problem: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/supportingsomeone-mental-health-problem