We have been in lockdown and living with Covid-19 for nearly a year. We have been provided by our government a ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown. But how are you feeling about this?

With there being a relaxation of the rules are you feeling dread, anxiety, excitement….a mixed bag of emotions?

We still need to look after ourselves, our loved ones and our communities, just because there is a relaxation in the rules coming doesn’t mean that the pandemic is over.

We have longed to see our friends and families, go back to clubs, swimming pools, cinemas or away for a night, a change of scenery! A different walk in a different part of the country!!

What is useful to remember is that it will take some time to adjust again.

It is worth reading 5 tips for dealing with uncertainty and the 5 ways to wellbeing series – as connection is something we are craving so much and looking forward to, but we need to do this safely. 

We may still find that people we are desperate to see are still vulnerable and shielding. We may find some people have become so isolated that it will take a long time to try and build up social networks again. In our excitement to ‘get out’ are we going to neglect and forget about neighbors that we have spent time chatting to – that might be the highlight of their day? Local shops and independent business’s that have become a life line for some human interaction and we have become a life line for their business to survive – are we just going to give up on them now?

We might feel fear and anxiety, that we might still get ill, that people are going to ‘flout’ the rules, that cases are going to increase and there be lockdown 4……this is scary yet perfectly normal.

We might feel angry….at the government, at the amount of loss and grief we have experienced, at our situations, at losing our job and struggling to find another…again perfectly normal.

Anxiety and worry….feeling that we ‘should’ feel better, that ‘we have been looking forward to this – so why don’t I feel better?’

You are not your feelings…

Try and pause, breathe, feel your feelings and they will pass.

Try to remember that you are perfectly normal to have all the feelings that you are experiencing. What can be helpful is to remember and take note of what and how much you can control.

What you can control;

• being kind
• asking for help
• forgiving
• trying again
• how you respond to others
• how much news you watch
• where you direct your energy
• how you look after yourself
• what goals you set yourself
• the way you behave
• how you speak to yourself

What you cannot control;

• someone else’s decisions
• others being honest
• other peoples actions
• other people’s attitudes
• other people’s behaviour
• how other people feel
• what people think of you

This is all worth remembering and hopefully will help you to navigate this further period of uncertainty.