Dealing With Bad Mental Health During COVID-19

I think we can all be in agreement when I say that times are very tough and unknown right now. This is completely unchartered waters for people and coping in general can be hard, and keeping on top of our mental health and well-being has never been more important than right now.

We're being told to stay in our homes and keep ourselves safe, and although this is such an easy thing for us to do, it seems as though it's one of the hardest things to do whilst keeping sane. I know for me personally I'm climbing the walls. My bpd relies on me keeping a routine and structure and keeping active, keeping social, going out and doing things to keep in good fashion and those are the exact things I don't have and can't do right now for mine and everyone elses safety. Which is perfectly fine, except I'm at home climbing the walls and so unsettled. It's coming up to my birthday which is always a hard time for me mentally anyway, but this whole situation is triggering all sorts of episodes for me, and I'm trying my best to stay sane and safe and thought I'd share my ways with you guys.

Going for a Daily Walk

Currently in the UK we are still allowed out for exercise as advised by our government, without which I definitely think I'd be going insane. My boyfriend's flat is right on the river luckily so we can go out and take a long stroll around the river and over the bridges and keep our distance from everyone. I recommend going out when the sun is going down or very early morning, not only is a beautiful view but there's also much less people about during these times and less likely to bump into someone or be too close to people which I find keeps me calmer too, if I go out during midday - two ish I find everyone and their dog is out walking and running and it's just too difficult to keep your distance and gets me on edge. I recommend taking your phone or a camera out with you too, take advantage of the beautiful nature whilst out on your walk and snap a few pictures, this always keeps me happier and calm focusing my mind on something creative.

Being Creative

I've recently been all over my amazon prime shopping and digging out old art supplies to keep myself entertained, so far I've got some watercolours and some colouring pens out and been busy painting and drawing my heart away to keep me busy. I've missed being creative and haven't really touched my art supplies since I was 16 doing my art GCSE's so it's nice to finally crack them back out and dust them off. I find painting and drawing in particular very soothing for me when I'm feeling unsettled, I just sit down and bury my head into a picture or doodle until I'm happy with it.

Having a Nap

This is a totally unproductive option, but hey, you're allowed to do nothing, this isn't a holiday where you should be busy every minute of every day, it's a pandemic and you're allowed to be overwhelmed and just sit. I find when I'm feeling particularly stressed or down, getting an hour or twos kip does me the world of good. I've always had naps when I'm struggling, it's one of my most unhealthy coping mechanisms, but recently I've majorly cut down from having a nap sometimes two every single day to just when I really need one. Recharging the batteries and having a little snooze is no bad thing!

Facetime 

One thing that's keeping me going is facetime. Whenever I'm missing someone like my friends or family i send a quick "anyone free for a video chat?" and off we go. I've had days where I've spent most of it on facetime on and off to my mates, even if we're all sat doing something else it's nice to have the virtual company of friends around and definitely puts a smile on my face. I've even been video chatting on whatsapp to my nan and grandad which has been lovely, I miss a cuppa and a chat so much with them.

Feeling it

Sometimes, you just have to feel your emotions. I'm trying new coping methods where I don't bury my feels and ignore them and actually, just let them happen. They're going to come and go and letting them happen is much easier than burying them, and much healthier. If I feel sad, I have a little cry to Patrick and a moan, if I feel angry, I let out a moan and groan and tell him what's wrong, or I just sit on the sofa and watch shitty TV and just feel whatever emotion I'm going through. BPD is rough and can throw you under the bus at any given moment, and it's important to remember you can't help it and this is going to happen, but what you can change is how you deal with it.

I hope some of these activities will help some of you guys too, let me know in the comments how you're keeping on top of your mental health!

Meg x