Being at Home

This is another article I wrote for the Orcadian which they published in April

At the moment my guess is that for most people their first waking thought is about “The Virus” and probably as they go to sleep they are desperately trying NOT to think about “The Virus”

Some of us are able to work from home, so are keeping occupied, and although it presents its own challenges as I said in a previous article, it does at least provide for some structure to our lives.

However, for those whose work has suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke life has taken a very frightening turn. Government aid is promised but how and when must be the question occupying people’s minds and the stress that engenders is unimaginable. So what might help ? The only person who knows what is best for themselves is, of course, the person going through it. And it’s easy for me to sit here and say “do this” or “do that” but here are a few suggestions that might help a bit.

First of all try not just to sit on the sofa and watch TV or play on a games console. If you binge watch all your favourite programmes in the next week or two, what on earth will you watch after that ? And you will appreciate them more if you ration yourself I am sure. I was brought up pre-video recorders of any sort, so was used to waiting a week for Episode 2 and another week for Episode 3 and it made it quite exciting. As a result I hate watching programmes back-to-back which is just as well right now.

Make sure your day has some routine and structure, and try (yes easy to say I know but try) to do something different at weekends to give some shape to the week and stop the days running endlessly into each other. As a simple example, we have soup or a sandwich for lunch in the week but at weekends I try and do something different or try a new recipe for our evening meal. Get up and go to bed at your normal time, have your meals at your normal time.

Maybe you could volunteer to help in some way – the Orcadian is a good place to start looking for organisations that need assistance. If you are self-isolating maybe there is something you can do from home or, if you are fit and able, perhaps you could help in other ways.

Find a way to get physically active whether that is by going for a brisk walk / run / cycle ride if you can or at least by watching and joining in with one of the many exercise programmes available – some on TV others on websites. Put some music on and practice your groovy dance moves! We make sure we go for a walk daily and always come back feeling better and more positive even if somewhat windswept.

Those of you with children will have been made aware of the teaching aids available on internet, but there is also a mass of adult education programmes. And no they aren’t boring. You can find something of interest in almost any field, whether you like archaeology, art, farming or … well anything really. You can learn new skills or improve existing skills –when I got my first computer that I tried to learn something new about it every day which has proved invaluable. And don’t look at the news feeds if they bother you.

Finally don’t be afraid to ask for help if you feel you need it. There are a lot of organisations offering help in so many ways – again the Orcadian will have details about many of them.

Stay well, stay safe and stay home.

a blog about moving to and living in Orkney

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