Bouncing back from 'hitting the wall'...

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I was pretty annoyingly upbeat during the first lockdown.

This one feels like being stuck in sludge. Seems like a lot of people are feeling the same IRL and on MN.

Has anyone hit the lockdown wall and then found a good way to bounce back?

I start a new job in 3 weeks and would like to be feeling reasonably normal and less Basset Hound like...

I feel like I'm in a marathon... with hurdles, long jump and high jump along the course.

Making the most of exercise with a person is my best pick-me-up at present.

I have started to walk for at least and hour each day. .
Rewarding the brain by completing small tasks .
Read an uplifting book ( page a day ).each am and also journal am.and pm using a journal called the way of the tortoise. A journal to happiness.
Also a gin at 4 pm !

Ps i cd feel what you describe and i have to actively decide to do this .. like a job to fight off lockdown utter fatigue .all the best .

If you find out, can you please let me know! It feels like Groundhog Day. Stuck in sludge is a great metaphor for it.

It's cyclical for me. At the moment I'm on the upside. I made some plans for the future, I stopped engaging in the news, I've been better at getting a decent walk, stopped eating loads of crap. What kicked me out of the slump was reading Adam Buxton's Ramblebook. Finding something that genuinely made me giggle - first time I'd laughed in about 4 weeks.

Happywinter.. whatis it you are asking whwn you say " if you can find out ".. ?

Seeing this as a positive opportunity.

I'm generally a negative person. But fortunately also an unsociable one.

There are things that I can now do and achieve that were not possible before. I'm focusing on those to get me through.

Antidepressants.

I mean, probably not everyone is going to need them? But I had to up my dose (after doctor consultation) last week and already I'm looking back and going "...huh, that was pretty bad I guess". If you're truly and completely stuck in the mire, struggling to do anything beyond sleeping and the world is exhausting it's worth at least talking to a doctor.

The three things I've found that work are:

• Planning things at home - e.g. we had an 80s non-birthday party this weekend, completely pointless but more fun than not doing it
• deliberately doing and noticing self-care, we stick a post it on the wall and discuss them later (have noticed this helps the kids do it more)
• exercise (videos in my case)

Also I need sleep (oh shit, look at the time!)

@Whatnow100

Happywinter.. whatis it you are asking whwn you say " if you can find out ".. ?

The OP asked -

Has anyone hit the lockdown wall and then found a good way to bounce back?

Happywinter is saying "if you find out how to bounce back, ..... let me know"

It's cyclical for me too. I need sleep, time alone, time being productive, exercise, healthy food and fun with others. If I can keep all those things in the mix I'm ok. It's a balancing act. I have also stopped watching the news. I just glance at it online now. I'm very fussy about what I read/watch.

Welcome to the Coronacoaster! I've been up and down since March. There are days when I cry uncontrollably and feel hopeless, and then the very next day I might feel quite upbeat. This is sometimes related to the latest news - good or bad - regarding the pandemic, but often my moods just seem to change on their own accord.

I had a sustained period of feeling quite optimistic for a good 4 or 5 days last week, but now I'm down in the dumps yet again!

Yes to the Coronacoaster, It helps me to realise that moods change and that's perfectly normal.

So I do some of the things that always perk me up, like appreciate lighter days, listen to birdsong, get outside (except when it's minus 2 degrees, brrr) and do my jigsaw.

And don't beat myself up over the occasional "lost day".

Having a few things in the future to look forward to. A holiday booked in UK? A weighloss goal to work towards? Also changing small things each day like perhaps having a completely different kind of breakfast than usual.

Exercise helps me a lot (strenuous exercise that raises your heart rate, not just going for a walk). So does doing things that have some element of continuous forward progress over a period of time - e.g. reading a long book, some kind of craft project, taking a course, redecorating, whatever.

I don't know if this applies to you but a lot of people seem to be struggling with the feeling of living the same day over and over. In that case I would suggest considering your daily routine and how much of it is really necessary - it's good to keep the house tidy and cook healthy meals, but the sky isn't going to fall in if you don't do those things every single day. If you spend too much time on daily tasks you can expend a lot of energy just to keep running in place, and with no fun things available to break it up it gets old very fast. If you're able to ditch some of your 'chores' and find a project that's more long-term to do in the time you save - even if it's just a small amount a day - it helps a lot with the feeling that there's no purpose to our lives right now.

Fully appreciate that not everyone is able to do that at the moment between work, homeschooling and general lack of motivation, and it's no substitute for seeing our loved ones of course. But as I don't know your circumstances I thought I'd suggest it just in case it does help

I enjoyed the first lockdown and was ok in the 2nd then In the 3rd I was happy until late January for a week.
I normally struggle with SAD.So I kept a routine.
Chores, bath tv and lunch some kind of walk or cooking session then tea .Same bedtime.
As a workaholic I did wonder how I would cope.
Reasons to be cheerful.
Valentine's day
Bought some logroll to tidy the garden
Doing dry Feb
Spring is almost here
Cut back on negative relatives
Limiting news
Vaccine programme is going really well.

Small things for a change / trying something new which aren't too much fuss
Things like ordering something nice online (mine was a lush box thing) or a new book or bath stuff - aromatherapy is nice

Not giving yourself a hard time if sometimes you don't do much except the essentials

Noticing the small positives- not having to get the school uniforms ready, or not having to clean as much if no-one coming round.