Mental Health and Wellbeing During Lockdown and Working from Home

Photo taken by Bethany Legg, @bkotynski, Cropped

The global pandemic and resultant lockdowns have had a significant impact on every aspect of our lives from our social and working lives to our mental health. No one element is unaffected which may leave us feeling like we have no space untroubled by Covid-19. The widespread adoption of working from home has left many wondering how to manage the new normal and look after their mental health.

If you are feeling unsettled or troubled then it’s important to know you’re not alone. There is plenty of help and additional tips on looking after your mental health and wellbeing around from the experts including the Samaritans here and some from the Mental Health Foundation here.

Some useful tips we’ve seen from the experts include:

Socialising – face to face may be off the cards but that doesn’t mean it has to stop totally. Ensuring you continue to socialise will reap rewards even if it is over video conferencing. Quizzes, games and apps provide useful ways to do this.

Routines are important and even if you’re not able to gather socially, getting up at the usual time, getting dressed specifically for work and switching off at the usual time safeguard your mental health. When it comes to starting and ending work right, try setting up a specific act that begins and ends your day e.g. plugging in or unplugging your computer, putting your work notebook away and out of sight. You may find that this little mental note of punctuation allows you to time to prepare for work in the morning or to decompress at the end.

Mindfulness and maintaining an awareness of what you’re feeling is helpful. Some elements of mindfulness teach you to allow the feelings to come and go without engaging with them denying them an opportunity to impact you for any longer than necessary. There’s a useful self-help app from the Samaritans here.

Lastly make time for Fun! Ensure you keep your hobbies up or start a new skill whether that’s taking up walking or learning a language. Fun is worthwhile and provides a clear delineation between ‘work’ and ‘life’ whilst giving you the satisfaction of achieving entirely new things.

Gareth Snaith, Contract Performance Manager, 3SC