To wonder how people are managing their mental health right now?

[GettingFatterByTheDay]

Because I’m fucking losing it. I’m at work tomorrow and Thursday until 1pm. The rest of the week I’ll be stuck in the house like the rest of Britain (I know I’m not special).

Today I sat on the couch until 8:30am. Walked the dog for an hour. Sat on the couch until 11:30. Washed the walls. Made lunch at 12 as it seemed like an acceptable time to eat. Sat on the couch. All the housework is done, the grass is cut. I’m so fucking bored. Come Thursday night I will get drunk and will remain so until Sunday. That is all I look forward to now and even that depresses me because I know it’s wrong.

As I said I KNOW I’m not the one but seriously, what the fuck are people doing to remain sane?

Read, learn, workout, nap, weeding garden, cook, nap, i have a pc game i relax with, nap, sit in a sun with book, nap, do an extra bit of cleaning in places I rarely think about, follow ants around garden, nap, cook, some tv show...

And yeah. If I realised I just look forward to getting drunk for 4 days, I would be depressed too.

I’ve been reading a lot. Like a book ever two days, normally takes me a couple of weeks. Got uni work to do to be fair but been managing to avoid it
Cooking things that take longer and are more elaborate, and writing shopping lists with things on that I can make fancier food with
Daily walk

Getting up later - this helps. Up at 9 instead of 8, bath instead of rushed shower, tidy up whilst I get dressed - I’m not ready for the day until 11ish.

I've done a bit of work today. Been for a run. Washed the bedding. Done some push ups. Been to the supermarket. Now I'm going to read a book for a bit.
I deem 5pm an acceptable time to turn the telly on so will watch some stuff then. Eat some tea. Go to bed really early as bored. Most of my days go like this!

I can’t just sit reading or whatever, I feel like I should be doing something 😫 I feel guilty, like I’m being lazy. I’ve been setting up a daft agility course in the garden for the dog but I’m just getting the point now where I’m seriously frustrated with anything and everything. Maybe I should fulfill my dream of writing a booook

Up at 7am and out for a run with the dog. Breakfast, then PE with Joe Wicks and the kids. Vacuumed downstairs, had a shower. Did some work while the kids did school work, got 3 loads of washing out on the line. Did the supermarket shop. Currently watching Killing Eve while eating my lunch.
This afternoon I will work on an assignment for my degree, drop some shopping off at a friend’s and at my mum’s, and read a bit before cooking tea. There’s gardening I could do and there’s always housework to do. I also sometimes colour or journal.

I’ve always been perfectly happy at home, with my own company, so I suppose that gives me an advantage right now. I understand we’re all different though.

the children keep us busy - it sounds like you don't have small children?
when the are watching a film, i watch netflix in another room.

i started things i never thought i would get round to like i now do knitting, do sodoku, do jigsaw puzzles etc in the early evening and after kids are in bed.

No kids. Just me and the dogs and grumpy bastard DH gets in from work at 5pm and sits playing computer games for hours which I find depressing. He says I can play computer games all day if I want to ...

A good, solid routine - lots of exercise, eating healthily and no alcohol.

I'm so shocked that my mental health has never been this good, lockdown has given me the opportunity to focus on doing things for me, and not do what I think I 'should' be doing.

And I’m getting fat.

I don't understand the guilt. The housework is done and the grass is cut. You can't go anywhere productive. If you're genuinely spending all weekend drunk why is an hour reading a book during the week a waste of time?

I have a toddler. Full stop. But when he is napping or with DH I'm playing Animal Crossing, reading, watching series on Netflix or Sky, having a bath, cooking freezer stuff. It is hard and I would rather be working (been made redundant) but I just take it a day at a time.

I stay in bed and read things on the internet til about 9am then drag myself out to do a workout. Trying kickboxing now and it's great. Have a long bath (shower is too cold but don't want to bother the landlady as she works in nhs). Then an elaborate brunch with DS. Try to turn him less feral and remind him to wash. Then do some music practice or stroke the cat. Sit in the garden then do some cleaning. Make an early dinner then watch tv and have a few drinks. Am kind of lonely but also glad I don't live with my boyfriend as I get to do what I want and stay in bed if I like. Going cycling every day to get heart rate up helps my mood.

Gardening and my dog have thus far kept me the right side of sane. Lunchtime wine is helping too.

My mental health is in the toilet from this. With a toddler and both of us working we are either working, doing childcare or asleep. It's not good. We are all really in a bad place.

I’m so sorry to hear that you’re having a tough time

I find focusing on my mindset rather than specifically things to do is really helpful. I think about how safe and relaxing my day at home is, as opposed to how stressful and worrying it must be as a key worker. I focus on how lucky I am to be in my situation, with a large apartment and private rooftop. I think about how I can help other people who aren’t so lucky. It sounds a little cheesy but it’s the main thing that’s helped keep me sane so far!

I’m really shocked because my mental health has never been better! I have bi polar disorder so struggle a lot but I feel like I’ve had a huge reset so I’m actually the happiest I’ve been in a long time.

I have two small kids to keep me occupied but every single evening,I set aside time to read. I spend much of the day counting down the hours until I get lie in bed and read a book. Rock 'n' roll lifestyle 😂
My youngest only went into her own room recently and I have over 200+ books on my Goodreads list to Wade through so I'm good. I love reading, it's my form of escapism.

I also want to bake but eggs seem to be hard to come by these days. Hey ho.

I'm not. I'm working from home tethered to a laptop which gives me headaches and a chair that hurts my back from 9 till good knows what time.
I had severe mental health problems years ago which I thought I'd overcome, its scarcely how quickly I'm right back there again.

@GettingFatterByTheDay
I fortunately, the booze won’t help you.. if you’re spending 4 days drinking, it will take you the other 3 to recover. Alcohol is depression in a glass, I totally understand wanting to see the world in a different way for a few days, but it takes about 3-4 days for the alcohol blues to go- by then you’re drinking again, and repeat cycle.
I only just figured this out myself before the weekend. I was drinking a bottle of Prosecco a night, and the sense of doom and anxiety was awful after.
So now, I have tea and toast in bed in the morning- get up and do a power walk listening to music I love- have a nice lunch, do the chores in the afternoon- and a lovely bath in the evening to relax.
Maybe try 2 weeks without booze. One hour daily exercise, and see how that goes?

Not well at all. My pre-existing MH issues were already playing up before this pandemic started. I'm having online/phone therapy and talk with my GP every few weeks at the moment, and my medications have been increased, but things are not great.

Things I'm trying to do: stick to a routine, eat healthy, still exercise, message and chat with people, keep talking with DH, do enjoyable things at home, give myself a break, sleep enough.

In reality, my sleep is all over the place no matter what I try, my eating habits are very inconsistant, as is exercise, and I'd rather withdraw from people than make the effort to keep in touch, and very bored of all the "enjoyable at home things". So it's all a bit tedious and not great.

My mental health is in the toilet from this. With a toddler and both of us working we are either working, doing childcare or asleep. It's not good. We are all really in a bad place.

Same here. Supposed to be working from home, looking after a toddler (who doesn't sleep) and home-schooling older DC at the same time. I've never been more stressed in my life.

Make a list of activities that can be done in 10-30 minute bursts and then pick and choose your way through the day with them. As much variety as possible, mixture of apps, videos, reading, physical stuff, creative... Try and jot down which ones you've done each day so you get a sense of achievement and can see how much you're really doing.

It's more effective at breaking the day up and killing time without going mad from boredom than trying to embark on big projects. Concentration starts to go within 30mins anyway.

Achieving six different 30 minute activities across the day also feels better than spending three hours struggling to finish one thing.

I don't think you need a bigger goal than to have moments during each day of feeling good (or less crap) and to end the day feeling ideally better than or at least no worse than you started it.

Surviving a shitty situation in one piece is good enough. No need for piling on the pressure of major transformational projects.

I’ve been okay for the past 3 weeks, but now I am struggling! I am becoming increasingly more and more lazy as the days go by.

I am furloughed but I am returning to work on the 4th May as I am a keyworker and work has increased in our industry, looking forward to having a routine again!

O escape into box sets, preferably with subtitles so I can’t use my phone at the same time.

There’s some really good online mindfulness classes, the mindful compass is really good. He does 4 sessions a day.