Life in Lockdown

This is quite tough isn't it?

At the point of writing this we have officially been in 'lockdown' for just over a month. I personally have been out of work for the last month. In my pre lockdown life I was three days away from starting a really exciting new job and beginning a new career path. Sadly that evening Boris announced my sector would be closing down due to it being non essential.

Cue a very panicked and slightly nauseous Lauren. That night I did what anyone who was unsure of their future would do; I had a glass of gin and a lot of chocolate. The next few days were spent contacting and finding out what the next few weeks would hold. This left me with the daunting prospect of Universal Credit. After about two weeks of calling and a pleasant two and a half hours on hold I finally got through to a lovely human who assured me we could get this all sorted out. And slowly we did.

But once the practical tasks began to dwindle and I had deep cleaned my room twice, read about five books, and baked a variety of treats. To the point that the concept of putting jeans on filled me with dread. It was time to face the music; in this case my thoughts. For too long I had consumed myself in work and trying to settle into my new grown up lifestyle; that finally I was being confronted with things I tend to push to the back of my head. Thoughts about what this virus will mean for the people I love, how on earth I'll pay for food this month and how do I keep myself busy?

Staying inside the majority of the day leaves you with a lot of time to your thoughts. Although I do get some little interruptions; mainly when my boyfriend screams about gulags during his PlayStation games! So if you've been having a little struggle like I have; here's some of the things I've been doing to get through:

Writing Lists
I loved a list before but I am intensely passionate about them now. Food shops, things to do after all this, what I actually really want in life. Basically as deep or as light hearted as I like. But I find it gets all the things I'm thinking about outside my head so I can get some sleep!

Working Out 
I know, I know everyone seems to have become a personal trainer nowadays. But I'll be honest I hate getting up early and working out it pains me. However it gives me a routine and those endorphins give me energy to actually do something with my day. Plus if all I do is nap or binge watch Gemma Collins: Diva in Lockdown for the rest of the day then at least I did something good for me in the morning!

Speaking To People
I'm separated from my family at the minute; but we've got a routine where we call once a week and catch up altogether. I look forward to this and it always makes me feel good afterwards. I like dropping into old friends DM's and seeing how they're doing or sending dumb memes to my flatmates. I guess it's just making sure that although you may feel a bit shut off from the world at the moment you're not shut off from people.

These are just a few of the little things I do when my brain is in a rut but keeping everyday interesting is hard. Sometimes I consider just running out and getting a train to anywhere. Obviously not possible and would be pretty stupid to do with what's going on. Instead when it gets really rough; I choose to feed myself pretzel sticks, light some candles and take a deep breath.