Lockdown Blues: Minding Our Minds
Lockdown is meant to prevent the
spread of infection from one person to another, to protect ourselves and
others. However, staying at home for such a prolonged period can be boring,
restricting and saddening. Here are some tips to combat the loneliness of
physical distancing and stay positive and cheerful.
Create
quality time: If
you share your home with others, why not make a special occasion of every day
events, like dinner, or even tea time? Encourage everyone to make an effort,
perhaps dress up.
Go
old school: Play
board games with those you are in lockdown with, or cards, chess, checkers.
These help you bond more closely, and feel less alone in a way no computer game
or film can.
Break
bad habits: Do
your phone conversations with loved ones, especially your parents/children seem
repetitive? So change: why not read a book aloud over the telephone with them,
a few pages at a time? You can take turns, so that in a little time, you've
read an interesting book and become closer.

Count
your friends:
Seriously, make a list of all those people you have considered your friends
over the years, and you'll realise there are people you have lost touch with.
Reach out to them, chances are you will both be pleasantly surprised.
Volunteer: Join a group helping those who
need assistance. That way, you can both feel good and make new friends.
Pets
are therapy:
Spend time with your own, or offer to walk a neighbour's dog. Don't be shy,
your neighbours and their dogs will thank you.
* Based on inputs
from Dr. H. S. Aditya, a consultant neuropsychiatrist and Medical Director of
Manasa Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Bangalore. He is an NHS consultant and has
served as Clinical Director in a Scottish health board. He is a graduate of the
Scottish Clinical Improvement Leadership program. In 2019, he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK.
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