Dear LPG,

Lock-down has had a variety of effects on the mental health of its ‘victims’ it is true.   For me it all started as an adventure.  I thought it would be a novelty to not have to get up relatively early and dressed in a hurry because I felt the need to make sure that I looked just so; ready for the day and looking up to standard before I walked through the front door.

I remember that I was going to use all that time to completely overhaul the look of my home and catch up with all my old friends that time, or lack of it, had forced me to not have spoken to for far too long. There were also other things I was going to do like get the garden looking ship-shape and sorting out my wardrobe.  But the sad truth is that we re nearly at the end of having to stay at home and I have not really achieved very much at all.

I think that I might well be echoing the thoughts of many pensioners at the start of April earlier this year.  I also have no doubt that I am reflecting their thoughts when I say that by the end of June we were all fed up with having nowhere to go.  Many of us got up a lot later in the mornings, got quite lonely if we were stuck on our own and found conflict and annoyance was the state of play if we were locked down with our nearest and dearest, as being stuck together 24/7 became monotonous and frustrating. 

I think that, now we are slowly getting back to ‘normal’, whatever that is, I find myself feeling really down some mornings; partly because I am still worried about leaving home and getting the virus and also because I have become really lazy without even noticing, and I realise that getting things done to time is now a struggle. 

All these trains of thought have left me feeling emotionally drained and tired and I suppose that I am experiencing a taste of very mild depression as a result, so I took a look at the internet and found a few ideas which I hope might lift the mood of any other readers who are running out of ways to  keep their spirits up. 

AO, Bellingham

AO notes that many of the websites share information that focuses on activities that are geared toward younger people but, with a little practical, lateral thinking, some of the ideas and information she has found may well be interpreted into suggestions that may just  help to lift your spirits and lead to ways of cultivating a more positive outlook on life…

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