One of the Care in Mind young people share a unique insight into how they have adapted to life in lockdown.

How have you found lockdown?

It has been hard. For the first three weeks I was stuck in a cycle and unable to sleep properly as I would be sleeping a lot in the day. There was nothing much I wanted to focus on and I didn’t know what to do.

How have your therapy sessions altered?

For me, I can’t communicate with people if it is not in person, so I was worried about how therapy sessions would be. I struggle to get as deep into things, and if it is not deep then I can’t advance more because I don’t enjoy it – I just don’t feel comfortable. It’s difficult because I do really want to move on and advance, I want to talk about so much but it’s a struggle.

How have you overcome this?

Instead of going deep into a situation, I am quickly analysing how I feel and asking myself questions like… “Ok, this happened to me. Well, why did this happen? What was the reactions of both people? Why did they react in that way?” I’ll do a quick analysis of the whole situation and think about how I can improve it and what went well. This way, I am still being honest about things and analysing how I feel, but I am perhaps not going into it as deep as I may in person.

What has helped you maintain your wellbeing?

I have recently started thinking a lot more about self-improvement and making a realistic goal for each month. I’m really into computers and so I’m learning a new programming language at the moment; and as I run my own business, I wanted to improve my commercial awareness. These are two simple things I can do during this time. I’m doing these things in small steps, because this is the best way to get better at something – you can’t just expect results right away, you need to find your routine in order to progress.

What have you struggled with during this time?

I have found that I need to adapt my routine with food. I’ve been trying to think about being more healthy, but also I want to treat myself because I am in lockdown and I want something to entertain me. I’ve been trying to find a balance – is it healthy enough for me to sustain? Because of course I am not using as much physical energy as usual.

How have you stayed safe when out and about?

I have been using my hour of outdoor exercise to go on a short cycle ride twice a week. Normally I would cycle between 10 – 20 miles, but I have had to pull that back during this time so that I am keeping it within the hour. I am always also making sure to keep the distance between myself and other people as I find this to be really important.

How are you maintaining positive?

I am always thinking about what opportunities I can benefit from at this time, whether it is my business or just having more time. If you keep your mind stimulated on something else, it really helps you because the hardest time for people with mental health issues is when they are not doing anything. That makes this the most difficult time for anyone with mental health struggles because you are spending time inside doing nothing.