lockdown blues

I’m not even referring to this lockdown as “lockdown 3” like many others, as the second one never really felt like a real lockdown – it felt more like a hospitality/shop lockdown, sure, but students were still attending universities and colleges and workplaces were simply told “if you can work from home you should work from home”. My experience of that “second lockdown” was very different from the picture painted on the news: my workplace was unaffected, and I continued to work as normal; the trams and trains I used to commute were just as busy as normal, and students seemed to be everywhere.

This “third lockdown” is a different thing entirely. The supermarkets are only allowing one person from a single party in at once, which makes things extremely difficult for my girlfriend with mobility issues, and my heart goes out to the elderly people who are now shopping alone (and struggling alone).

I am only working a maximum of one day a week, which is great for catching up on my university work and for writing (still trying to plan the sequel to The Black Rook), but my motivation and mental state have both plummeted.

Of course, I live a very privileged life compared to a lot of people. I can’t even imagine what families on the lower end of the economic scale are going through right now. But all the same, it’s important to talk about mental health, and my own situation is looking pretty bleak right now.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, and I certainly don’t want this blog post to be all about my woes. I am trying to make the most of the time I get to spend with my girlfriend, as well as the spare time I have for writing and reading, which, when I’m working my usual hours, is very hard to come by.

I know it’s been said a million times by a million different people, but things will get better soon! There’s a light at the end of the tunnel with the rolling out of these covid vaccines. If you, or someone you know, is struggling at all, though, I would recommend contacting the charity Mind. Or if somebody simply wants a casual chat, my inbox is always open (doesn’t have to be writing related) and you can access that via my “contact me” section of my website.