How are you managing to get through this?

[PurpleChevron]

Feel like I am losing the plot a little bit......I know most people will be feeling rather lost.
I am not sleeping too well.
I don't seem to have any routine or structure to my day, but I also don't know how to put one in place and stick to it.
I find it hard to concentrate on my work.

I made an effort this morning and got up, showered and put clean clothes on which definitely made a positive difference in how I felt.

What other things can I put in place to keep me going? I have a feeling its going to be quite some time before I am able to return to work so I need to sort myself out.

Let’s revisit our differing views in a year maximum and sees who is right!
What a brilliant idea!
How about a new thread, predictions only, no comment or chat to be locked in a couple of days and revisited in a year, like a time capsule! Tempted to get my family to write it down today and then put away for a year!

"I don't think I have every realised how much i rely on the routine of day to day life."

I think it's up to you to maintain that routine though. I'm wfh and I still get up at 6.30 to get work done before DS gets up, then work until lunchtime then work again until teatime. DH is furloughed so I'm lucky he can do childcare. I believe that sticking to as close a routine as before as possible sets a good example to kids and helps keep you motivated.

I seem to be getting through this by maintaining a permanently baffled state. I just can't seem to grasp what's going on.

I get up with DC and make breakfast, we potter in the garden, then have lunch and tidy up a bit. Nap time for DC in the afternoon and lately I’ve been joining in. Then dinner at 6pm, and some sort of film, craft activity or playing in the bath before bed. It’s like Groundhog Day.

Truthfully I have no free time. I’m busier than usual because I no longer have freedom for a few hours while grandparents babysit DC. Totally envious of those who are able to read a book, watch Netflix or play a computer game. All of that has been taken away from me due to the lack of babysitters.

I think routine is vital and I also think the daily exercise is incredibly important.

People sneer at everyone insisting on their "right" to exercise when they haven't done before but it's importance for mental health really can't be underestimated, even if it is only a gentle stroll.

Also, if you take it at the same time daily it helps with the routine.

Not coping well at all. I just feel depressed and anxious all the time and I'm not a great mum to DD. We miss going to groups and even just trips to look at things in the shop. This isn't healthy.

One day at a time. Looking for hope where I can see it. Allowing my highly analytical brain the one half hour a day to look behind the actual numbers. Attempting to read between the lines with what is being said at the briefings. I'm autistic and struggle with body language so have spent a long time having to understand what people are saying and how slight differences in wording can mean more than I'd have thought (although I probably do over analyse).
And attempting to keep my own routine including my exercise/running as normal as possible.

I go on a lot of walks. I work outside the home all week and it’s stressful. I like to walk to clear my head

I find I'm ok if I focus on the here and now, but lose it if I start to try and think about the future. So planning holidays which has always been a source of joy for me, now starts off negative thoughts about will we be able to go. I've booked a no risk place in July in UK with DHs family which we don't have to pay if we can't go, but I think I have too much invested in being able to go so I kind of wish I hadn't organised it

Working from home is a mixed blessing. It means I need to get up and have some sort of structure to the day, but I'm missing the necessary oomph to do the fluffy bits of my job at the minute.

In April I signed up to an online challenge to do 10k steps per day and that has been great. We have a dog so I need to go out anyway, but means I work a set pattern at home to make sure I have the hour I need to get most of my steps for the day in. For May I have signed up to run 50km over the course of the month.

I'll manage another 3 weeks because I have to, but I'll be one of the first in line when Garden Centres open just for a bit of variety. Don't worry I will wear a mask - but we think we've had it anyway although- and this makes me a bit wound up when I think about it - we may as well not have had as weren't tested.

Have a look at the Dr Rangan Chatterjee book ‘Feel better in 5’. It’s about doing 5 minute ‘health snacks’ and I’ve found it really useful. It’s kept me away from the depression pit I was teetering on the edge of. He has some really inspiring podcasts too.

I'm telling myself lockdown will be lifted end of May and I will finally be able to see my dentist (nothing major, but it could lead to me losing two teeth if I don't sort it). I've never been happier to book an appointment there!

I have a list of jobs that I'm working through and am adding things to as I think of them.
I've always had a daily and weekly routine but just changed it a bit since lockdown and taken the opportunity to write it down which is helping me stick to it too. My DP has schizophrenia so needs structure and routine therefore I need to keep up with the routine we have developed to keep him healthy

With you OP, positivity has done one. I'm fed up, sad, tired,achey and feel totally blah....

My mum is in hospital very ill which has thrown me but also just cleaning and tidying up all the time, feeding the kids again, helping with school IT support is so draining.
Working from home is a joke.
I feel I have nothing to look forward to, the prospect of my darling mum dying and not even having a proper funeral where I can see my family is shit.
Nothing to look forward to. Walks help, wine helps but.... Urgh

I'm in 2 minds about whether the routine is helping. It probably is but some days it feel like we are in a pointless loop with nothing to look forward to.