At the time of writing this blog post, it’s been 30 days since the UK government announced a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Schools, pubs, restaurants, gyms, and “non-essential” businesses are closed, and we have been told to stay at home and only leave the house if we can’t avoid it, for example, to go food shopping.
I spotted the below questions on Sarah's blog Life in A Break Down. It's part of a “link up” (or “linky”) where bloggers answer the same questions and link up their posts. The idea is to share your thoughts, feelings, and ideas on how to get through the coming weeks.
I thought it was a really good idea, and I'm sure in a few years I'll find it interesting to read this post back and reflect on this strange time. Since I've missed the first few weeks I'm going to base my answers on the past 30 days rather than the past 7.
1) How are you feeling/coping?
My emotions have been all over the place. Some days I feel like I'm in a bubble and everything is fine. Other days I feel scared, anxious, and angry when I hear about people who aren't taking this situation seriously. I have to keep reminding myself not to get myself worked up over things I can't control.
2) What are you doing to keep yourself occupied?
I work as a social media manager, so I’m in a very fortunate position where I can do my job from anywhere as long as I have access to a computer and the internet. This has been keeping me pretty busy during the week.
My evenings and weekends have mainly been filled with reading and playing The Sims 4. My obsession has got so bad I even started having dreams that my sims had to go into lockdown because of the coronavirus... *facepalm*
I've also been trying to keep active and exercise as much as possible. I’m limited to what I can do in the house, but I’ve found a few yoga and HIIT videos on YouTube which are easy to follow.
3) How are you dealing with everything at the moment – are you self-isolated, going out for essentials etc?
Some of you will know that I had chemotherapy last year for blood cancer and am currently in remission. Just after the lockdown was announced, I received a letter and a text message from the government to let me know that I fall into the “extremely vulnerable” category of people who could become seriously ill if they contract COVID-19. The only time I'm allowed to leave the house is if I have a medical emergency. I live with my sister so she's been going out to the supermarket for us.
4) What advice do you have for others?
The only advice I can give is "Do whatever you need to do to get yourself through this." If you want to spend your time being productive then that's cool. But equally, if you have days where you stay in your PJs and binge-watch Netflix then that's ok too. We all cope differently.
5) What have you bought this week that others might like? Especially if from a small business.
I ordered a taster box from The Cake Tasting Club and I'm really excited for it to arrive! I first heard about them from a friend before I started following them on Instagram. They do subscription boxes as well as one-off boxes and would make a lovely gift if you have any birthdays coming up in May.
6) How has your routine been this week? (Question by Don’t Cramp My Style)
Working from home means I have to wake up by a certain time every morning. Although I do have a habit of rolling out of bed 10-minutes before I need to be at my laptop! I'd like to start getting up earlier so I can fit in a quick workout first thing. It's a cliché, but I do feel a million times better after I've exercised.
I saw a quote on Twitter recently which said something like "Exercise is a celebration of what your body can achieve" and I really felt that. I spent most of last year too poorly to move from my sofa, so now that I'm able to exercise again I feel like I shouldn't take it for granted.
7) Have you planned anything for once lockdown is over? (Question by Don’t Cramp My Style)
I had so many travel plans this year and it broke my heart having to cancel. As soon as it's safe to travel I'll be planning so many trips! My family and I are hoping to go to Walt Disney World Florida next August, and New Zealand is also high on my list. It's my 30th birthday in December and I'd love to go away for it, even if it's a mini-break in the UK.
Thank you to Sarah and Bex for coming up with this linky. If you're a blogger and you'd like to answer these questions yourself then I'll share them again below so you can copy + paste.
1) How are you feeling/coping?
2) What are you doing to keep yourself occupied?
3) How are you dealing with everything at the moment – are you self-isolated, going out for essentials, etc? Has this changed?
4) What advice do you have for others?
5) What have you bought this week that others might like? Especially if from a small business.
6) How has your routine been this week? (Question by Don’t Cramp My Style)
7) Have you planned anything for once lockdown is over in the past 7 days? (Question by Don’t Cramp My Style)
8) Anything else?
I am glad you have your sister to look after you and get you shopping etc. It's tricky being shielded. We have family who are but are far away so making sure they get help has been harder. I think the up and down emotions thing is happening to a lot of people and the mental health implications of this lockdown and afterwards are going to be huge, I have felt some massive highs and lows, it's so strange. Glad you can keep working though, that's helpful at least
Thanks so much for linking up! The Cake Tasting box sounds amazing - I ordered cakes this week too! We have a wonderful independent tearoom in the village I have just moved out of and I would hate to see them have to shut so find it important to support them financially during these trying times.
It was the biggest hoax played on the population in modern times.