Getting through lockdown: Team AA’s tips

We are currently living through an incredibly unusual and uncertain time where we don’t exactly know what our future will look like, let alone when we will be able to hug our friends and family without running the risk of spreading a potentially life-threatening virus. Many people have lost their lives, many have lost their jobs, and many are struggling to cope with this new way of life where freedom has essentially been taken away from us.

This time may have created mental health issues for some, made current problems worse for others, or not had any effect at all – we all deal with things in completely different ways and it’s so important to be mindful of that, especially during a global pandemic that no one predicted. It’s a new experience for us all.

While we know that looking after our mental health and wellbeing is necessary all year round, life is not normal at the moment and it is also Mental Health Awareness Week this week, so Team Advertising Association has pulled together some tips on things that have helped us get through the Covid-19 lockdown. We hope that they might be of some use to you. In no particular order…

1. Yoga! – Yoga with Adriene and Sarah Beth on YouTube are great, as well as this yoga stretch video – https://youtu.be/2JdHUMXDS3w – or for even more, check this site out – https://tribe.yoga/online/

2. Get outside as much as possible – walking, cycling, running – it will never be traffic free again!

3. Go for a lunchtime walk and call someone, or have a virtual morning coffee with friends before work. It helps to feel far more connected to people and stops us starting work early/working through lunch, just as a real social engagement would.

4. For a pick-me-up, follow some funny dog accounts on Instagram such as – https://www.instagram.com/dogsofinstagram/ and https://www.instagram.com/dogsofcomedy/

5. Running. Try the same route and use an app to track your improvement in pace and time, you’ll be amazed at how much progress you can make.

6. Make use of technology like Zoom and FaceTime – have calls with friends and family and maybe take part in a quiz or virtual game.

7. Remember that you aren’t going to feel your best every day – this is a very weird situation and we are only human!

8. Try meditation. This is a really nice 10 min morning meditation, great for if you wake up with a racing mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OccjH_2ddQc

9. Try setting up regular ‘occasions’ in the weekly calendar to look forward to. For example – Friday night’s movie night, Saturday night is some kind of Lockdown Dining Party and Sunday we’ve started to have a proper roast dinner at lunchtime.

10. Keep a daily journal (cliche but it works). Record stuff about work, home-life and write one single line about the most significant thing that’s going on ‘Outside’…

11. Listen to new albums – I find music is a really good ‘escape’ and I’ve also been listening to podcasts.

12. Try cooking new dishes – this sometimes takes some self-motivation but just looking at new basic dishes and using the same, old ingredients in a different way helps to change things up a bit.

13. Have regular mealtimes! Nutrition is important.

14. Keep the weekends!

15. Set yourself a craft project that doesn’t involve any screen time.

16. Exercise if you can.

17. Try to focus on the positives of the experience and the good things that may have come out of this time.