Five Ways to Escape Lockdown Depression

After more than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, it is still not clear when we could go back to the normal as we know it. Mentally, most of us have already had the worst episode of our lives but there is no guarantee that our hard-fought struggle will be over soon. The chances are there will always be some level of unnerving measures everywhere we go outside our homes in the foreseeable future, even though, at the best, we do not wake up to the news of thousands of more deaths every day anymore. So, it is time we adopt certain lifestyle changes to make sure we outlive this tiny yet incredibly cunning and dangerous virus as a perfectly healthy human being, both in body and in spirit. Here are five easy-to-follow suggestions:

Fight the disease, not the measures

Granted, all of us are tired and we do not want to be afraid or constrained any longer. We just want to be our old selves again. The thing is the price we might have to pay for forcing our way into it is too high. Any premature attempt risks endangering our lives or those of others so close to our hearts. The right thing to do, then, is continuing to fight this disease, not the measures put in place to stop it from exacting a heavier toll. I know wearing a mask is not the most comfortable thing you do but consider it a shield that you should never drop in a battle. For as much as we know, it is our greatest ally. 

Cherish all relationships, reestablish lost contacts 

A main mechanism with which the pandemic hurts is making us feel lonely. Yes, we cannot wine and dine as much as we like now. But can we not use all the spare time we gain by not doing so to reevaluate all our relationships and mend fences wherever there are any issues? If you think about it, now is actually a great time to catch up with an old friend, for he or she is probably as much depressed and in great need of a human touch as you are. So, pick your phone now and call them. Just say hi and ask how they are doing and if there is anything in your power you can do to help. Talk about an experience you shared, remind and remember, and laugh and cry together. At the end, you will know that you are not alone and so will they. It is a beautiful feeling. 

Don't just sit back on your butts; move!

Now, when you have a renewed faith in the fight against the virus and also feel more connected to those you want to, the next thing you should do is move. We have started to spend so much more time on our butts, often glued to a screen, than on our feet because of the pandemic and it sucks. It drains our energy, makes us terribly gain weight and destroys our posture. What follows is bloody eyes and a horrible pain that travels around our heads and all the way down our spines. The truth is it is more our own making, not that of the disease. Honestly, what stops us from taking a nice walk? Yes, we might have to put on a mask doing so, but we can still do it, right? So should we. And the best thing is we can enjoy it as a group, not perhaps a large one, but we may do it with two or three other people. Pick your company and get going. You will discover it to be an incredibly refreshing exercise. 

Drop junk food!

Another common mistake we do during the pandemic, is our reliance on heavily processed fast-food and artificially flavored drinks. Remember the next time you order a huge serving of burger and coke that almost everything that goes into them is actually bad for your health, containing excessive calories and forcing blood glucose and cholesterol levels too high too soon. Today they are associated with a long list of frightening conditions including diabetes, heart attack and stroke as well as over a dozen types of cancer. Worse, depression and junk food are such good friends that they rarely part ways with each other. When we are depressed, we order more of those burgers, pizzas, fries etc... and consuming them over the long term makes us feel only more miserable. That vicious cycle is a massive risk for our health, both physically and mentally. What we can do instead is take the time to prepare our own food from the ingredients we know. Replacing those easy yet extremely unhealthy choices with, say, legumes, fruits and vegetables will be one of the best things we did in our whole lives. 

Build a Sleep Routine & Take It Seriously        

Finally, most of us tend to dispense with our sleep so easily for doing non-essential things or even for doing nothing at all. Sitting idly across a TV set at midnight is not the kind of rest we need after being exposed to various stressors during the day, any day. When we deny our body a proper period of sleep, we are not only leaving our systems vulnerable against all the pathogens ready to infest and invade them but also make it much harder for our minds to cope with all the non-physical weight of our time. So, take it on yourselves to institute a sleep routine and make all the arrangements to strictly follow it. Only then will you be able to start the day with all the strength you will need till dark, no matter if at home or outside.