Mental Health Week and COVID-19

Hi everyone, hope you are all well in these difficult times. 

With it being  Mental Health Awareness Week (18th-24th of May), I thought it was a good time to post a blog about how I am feeling in these alien times.  It has been quite a while since I last posted (March) and during this time our world as we know it has changed drastically. 

The government instructed me to go into "Lockdown" on the 20th March  as I am classed as a vulnerable citizen. My Mum had already decided to keep me at home from Wednesday 14th as it seemed the government were taking too long to make these key decisions and if I were to contract Covid -19 it would cause me to be critically ill or would be life threatening.   This is week 9 of just me and my Mum being in self isolation and not seeing a single other person apart from my close family who have been to visit us and had to keep to the 2-metre social distancing rule. This is even more of a challenge for my Mum as she is my only carer at the moment as we cannot risk anyone else bringing any kind of infection into the house. 

In times like these it may cause people who do not usually suffer with their mental health to suffer with anxieties and depression etc. let alone those people who already suffer. I myself have been experiencing anxiety around the uncertainty of what this virus could do to the world and to those I love.  It is also affecting me not being able to spend quality time with my family like we usually do, and it makes me feel like we may have taken these times for granted.  My friends are also in the vulnerable category, so we are able to support each other and know that we are not alone. 

It was such a shock when the whole football community went down after the government guidelines, but I understand completely why it is too keep the players and fans safe, but hate not being able to go to watch the games or watch any football on tv.  I am no longer allowed to take part in any social activities including my powerchair football. My football league has been cancelled and we are still waiting for confirmation of what may happen next year. I feel that when we are able to go out, that people will appreciate the little things in life more.

This school year i was in year 12 and at my school we would usually be taking our GCSE's. These have been cancelled for the time being along with everybody else’s, but I  have not been informed yet whether i may sit them again as I  remain at my school until the age of 19.  This is also causing me some anxieties and uncertainty as I really do not know what my future holds. 

The one positive thing of this happening in today's society is that we still have the ability to communicate with our friends, family, and teachers.  If we didn't  have our technology such as smart phones and laptops along with the internet, I think people would suffer more mentally not being able communicate at all. 

During lockdown we have been trying to  stay as positive as possible and somethings I have been doing to keep myself busy and distracted are; playing FIFA, doing schoolwork, started watching all of the Marvel films with my friend, expanding my music knowledge, watching lots of Netflix and Disney+, and speaking to my family and friends, along with spending time with my Mum and Buster in the garden - ensuring I'm getting my vitamin D. I have also written a quiz for  my family  which 15 members of my family took part in and all really enjoyed it. We are planning another one soon. 

I really felt passionate about writing a blog this week and I just want to remind everyone that it is "ok to not be ok" and these uncertain times we may be all feeling a lot more anxious and vulnerable possibly more than usual. If I  could give any advice to anybody reading this now and that may be feeling low, it would be to keep busy and distract yourself. Make sure you speak to your loved ones on a regular basis and try and get some fresh air but sticking to the government guidelines. We will get through these times together and the world will be back to how it used to be but hopefully even better.

Finally, I would like to thank you to all of the doctors, nurses, keyworkers, and NHS workers, who are risking their lives to keep us as safe as possible. STAY AT HOME AND SAVE LIVES!!

Thank you for reading, stay safe!

Ellie X