Here we go again… England National Lockdown Round 3! Oh, the excitement.

I’m sure all of you are feeling a whole mix of different emotions towards the announcement made last night at 8pm by our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson: outraged, annoyed, deflated, or truly just pissed off. Me too.

But what can we do to avoid getting into a runt about it all? Believe me, there are tons of ways to stay positive during this time – as long as you truly want to be positive about it and actively hold a positive mind set through out this lockdown. If we all help each other, (hopefully) the time will fly by…

Look out for each other. Check in with your friends and families weekly or daily. Call them, text them, FaceTime them, or have weekly Zoom quizzes. Whatever floats your boat. Remember to be there for each other now as you never know how someone is doing until you really ask them.

Look after yourself. I should put this point at the very top of the list as it is the most important. Self care. We all hear about this concept of looking after ourselves, but how many of us actually practise it? I give you the challenge of doing at least 1 thing a day for yourself. Whether that’s your favourite hobby, exercise, baking, Netflix or so on, do it everyday so that you have done at least one thing for yourself that day. Keep a habit tracker of how often you do these things and maybe you will start to see a difference mentally.

Exercise. I’m sorry to have to mention it in pretty much all my posts, but you must know by now the vitality of exercise! Get your heart pumping by simply going for a walk, or find at home workouts on YouTube or do some yoga, or anything, at least 3x a week. Personally, I take that number and multiply by god knows how much as it keeps me sane and content. If you are the antithesis of me and don’t like sport, I’m truly sorry… but have a go. I’ve always believed there’s always a form of exercise that everyone can do and enjoy, you just have to be ready to find it.

Get some fresh air. I know it’s cold at the moment, but try and find somewhere around your house, preferably somewhere undercover, where you can sit and breathe in the outdoors (even if you are in a city). Have your morning coffee or read a book or even do some work outside and this will definitely boost your mood, even if you are cold!

Get a healthy routine. Breakfast, showering, exercise, Netflix, try and schedule in things to do in the day so that you have structure and things to actually do. However, as much as I like a routine, I think we can all agree that we got so unbelievably fed up with routine and doing the same things every single day on repeat for months. The difference this time is that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, with the fact that we’ve been told it’s only til the end of February. I don’t know if I believe or trust that, but I’m going to go with that for now.

Try not to worry. We all have our own worries and concerns this time around but please try and stay positive. For those younger people out there like me, we are faced with the growing likelihood that our alevels and GCSEs will be cancelled this summer. How awful is that, right? Yes, but I’m not going to dwell on it. It is out of my control. There is no point worrying about it because it’s not just me dealing with it, but the whole nation. Also, it’s the examiners and exam boards who are more stressed about it!

So, I’m asking you yet again to try and retain that PMA (positive mental attitude) and we will get through this tough time together.

— Ellie ❤️