Lockdown presents a lot of challenges for people, especially when is becomes prolonged. Below are
a few guidelines that may be helpful.
Maintain a daily routine. Most of us will function better in a structured environment. Much of the
structure to our everyday lives is suppled externally, by sources such as work demands, school
demands etc. During lockdown these external structures are often removed, and this can cause
some psychological disorientation. Initially, we rejoice at the new-found freedom – we no longer
have to get up at a specific time or commute, but this novelty soon wears off and often people find
their productivity declines and people can become depressed and/or anxious.
I recommend to people to keep a routine in place. Setting a daily schedule can be very useful. Get up
at a set time and go to bed at a set time; I mean this in broad terms, not something set in stone. This
will protect out sleep patterns.
It may be useful to act as if one was going out to work. Continue with your normal morning routine.
Have a shower and perform all the usual grooming and toiletries. Always get fully dressed.
Keep mealtimes regular and use food preparation as a regular scheduled task.
Put in place a daily schedule. This does not have to account for every single minute of every day, but
it should set key tasks for specific times. When the time comes to do the scheduled task, we should
do it irrespective of how we are feeling.
Schedule in some daily exercise.
Try to maintain your social network. Schedule some social activity every day. In some cases, this may
be confined to conversations by telephone or zoom etc.
Always make time for relaxation.
To contact :
Phone +353 61313811
Email : bvok@brianokeeffe.ie