Staying mentally well during Winter lockdown

[Pegs11]

Hi, a lot of people I know seem very concerned about the prospect of another lockdown over Winter, and the potential effects on mental health.

My husband and I have been thinking about how we can start preparing for this, should it happen.

Ideas so far:

-Buy more board games
-Get a hot tub (!)
-Get a VR headset so we can still “go” to the beach!
-Buy waterproof clothes so we can always go for a walk in any weather

Not sure we can afford most of these though!

I thought it might be interesting, and maybe helpful to some, to start a thread about this so people can share their ideas on how we can all keep as mentally well as possible this Winter.

If you’d like to share your ideas I, for one, would really appreciate it!

I’m starting to panic with a 2 year old to be honest

We are not going to have another lockdown. This country and the economy will not survive the second time.

@yarncakes

We are not going to have another lockdown. This country and the economy will not survive the second time.

You have NO authority to state that as fact

NONE

I agree it's not likely, but whether there's another 'national lockdown'or not, it doesn't hurt to be prepared for a local lockdown or simply to spend more time at home over the winter.

I doubt if a country wide lockdown would happen, but maybe local. Just hoping it won't be for as long this time, if it happens at all. Do you have a garden OP? How old are your kids? I'm wondering about little garden-based projects eg. Leaf printing, bug collecting, something we can do outdoors and educational, and passes the long days!

Interested in others ideas too

Just read your post and you didn't mention kids at all! If it's for you, what about good books, crafting, some kind of arty project? Though you've probably thought of all this

Life won't be 'normal' for a while, even if we are lucky and don't get another lockdown.

I expect there will be localised lockdowns/schools shut etc.

There's no harm in being prepared.

A decent TV & a decent sofa would be lovely!

I'm trying to declutter now while I can to make winter less oppressive.
I would quite like a lockdown in winter as I chose to carry on working in the last lockdown and not take furlough, but I would chose to carry on working again no doubt, as Christmas is a busy time in my industry, Covid or no Covid and I enjoy work and want to keep the business going.

I don’t have kids. So lockdown is probably easier for me. But ideas for surviving a winter lockdown are a good idea whether you’ve got kids or not, I think! All ideas are welcome here.

Other than the build up to Christmas people are mostly indoors anyway over winter and staying at home (barring school/work).

For me it would be embarrassing all things Hygge.
I would be working regardless so for me lockdown isn’t quite as isolating. I’m lucky to still be able to get out of the house.

Given that the unemployment rate is climbing sharply, I don't think staying mentally well will be an option for many if there's another winter lockdown, it will be ecomonic armadeggon and no amount of cosy shite and brisk country walks is going to mitigate that.

@karmasic De-cluttering is a really good idea, that would certainly keep me busy for a while 🤣. Thanks!

@MaxNormal I’m not disagreeing with you about the economic impact, but I think we’ve got to try and get through it the best we can, and the more tools we have at our disposal the better.

I'm thinking of decorating the house for Autumn (or fall- like they say in America). It seems very popular in America and I think refreshing the house even with some new paint and some different colours will help feel like being at home is a pleasure rather than annoyance.

There won't be another lockdown

Ok so some believe we won’t go into lockdown again... and they may well be right.

But whether or not there is another full lockdown, I still think this Winter will be hard... especially if there is a spike in Covid cases as some experts have predicted.

Many people won’t be taking risks, they won’t be going out and seeing their friends as much as before, won’t be going to their usual groups, gym classes etc, won’t be having big family gatherings... People will be being extra cautious (and if they’re not they should be!).

So yeah, I think this winter will be a tough one for many, with people seeing their mates less and doing less of their favourite activities. And it doesn’t hurt to prepare for that.

...We’re thinking of getting a proper outdoor stove so we can spend the evenings sitting in the garden (rather than being stuck inside) 😊

DH and I were discussing this tonight. I think it's unlikely there's going to be another national lockdown for the simple reason that they just can't afford it but there may well be local lockdowns, school closures or local spikes which will see us naturally more housebound. And I don't think there's any harm planning ahead for that.

We're going to make sure we have stuff in for the kids for arts and crafts again as they served us well last lockdown and will probably get more use with the weather turning and the early nights.

I'm getting my dad's old telescope for when the nights are drawing in to start stargazing again. Been dipping in and out for years but I feel this is the perfect chance to properly get into it.

Just enjoy the summer! Put all your energy and effort into making the most of now, rather than worrying about something that might not happen.

Daylight /SAD lamp?

@yarncakes

We are not going to have another lockdown. This country and the economy will not survive the second time.

Of course it will, there is no alternative. It'll be hard but survivable

I think a winter lockdown would be easier than the spring one in terms of mental health (presuming financial health). People stay indoors more then anyway, with their blankets and soups, so it'll feel more normal to do so. Sucked being indoors in that spell of glorious weather back in March/early April.

There's still sunny days in winter so I'll focus on getting outside as much as possible on those days.

@WhenCoronaWasALager yeah I was thinking of maybe getting one of those! Do they work?

Draw, everyone can draw regardless of what people say.

Learn to draw better. You can draw anything, kids sitting in the couch, egg cup, view from window, crumpled bed, houseplant. You initially only need a few pencils, I would get a nice sketchbook and a rubber. It fills time and you empty your mind when doing it.

Either draw or get a dog :-)

@Pegs11. I think I read that research shows they do.

I think good warm/waterproof clothing is key - will be so important to get outside even if the weather is dreadful.

A firepit might also be good - we have a woodburner inside which is cosy but would be nice to be able to have small outdoor fires too (neighbours allowing)

Decorating for & celebrating other little days apart from Christmas - there's a great book called Merry Midwinter which has some lovely ideas for things like that

Saving as much money as possible as if we lock down again my freelance work will disappear again and DH will probably be made redundant. Not much else we can do to prepare really as most of the other things cost money, and we need to save that money to get us through.
Those that say a winter lockdown will be easier as people stay in more anyway probably don’t have very young children who need to get out and about to maintain everyone’s sanity. My 6, 5 and 1 year olds aren’t massive fans of eating soup under a blanket for days on end.