How to come to terms with normal life returning

"It's important to remember that there is no 'normal' response to changes to lockdown and your feelings may be affected by lots of things that are outside of your control. Your feelings may also change day to day." - Rosie Weatherley, Information Content Manager at Mind.

After being in lockdown for so long, my life has become my bedroom and I've become so used to seeing the same faces everyday that the idea of normal life returning is very daunting. Don't get me wrong I'm so excited for it, festivals, holidays and even going out for meals seems like a distant memory now so to know they'll be returning very soon is a relief to me. But I can't help but feeling anxious, the thought of crowds, interacting and going back to our old ways after so long scares me. I've found comfort in the smallest things such as being home with my family more than normal and even spending nights in with a small circle of friends, I'm not even used to the idea of returning to a classroom full of people yet!

I've decided to prepare myself for normality and hope these tips help you too!

1) Adjust slowly

If the idea of normality and crowds makes you feel anxious too, don't throw yourself into it all at once. Now Pubs and restaurants have opened again outside, go with a small group of people, or even on your own and pace yourself nicely to see how you cope. Try going to somewhere quiet first and less rowdy then if you feel the right atmosphere and comfortable going somewhere else, do it! Just make sure that your friends won't push you too hard and are accepting if you may feel overwhelmed and want to go home or try somewhere else.

2) Don't overdo it

Even though you may feel bad turning down some plans as everyone's excited to go out again, don't! Only do what you think you're capable of in the first couple weeks of things reopening, or even longer if you need. The best thing to do is pace yourself and see how you slowly adjust to things again.

3) Don't do things you wouldn't normally do because others want you to

If you feel the pressure of others encouraging you to try something you're not comfortable doing just because 'we've been in lockdown so long' politely decline if you want to. When things start to open again, do the things you love to do and feel comfort in such as going to the cinema, shopping or visiting friends and family or somewhere that's been closed.

4) Get yourself slowly back into your old routine

For many of us our normal routine has completely changed. We may wake up or sleep different times, go out different times, exercise differently or maybe not even go out at all. Our old routines seem very distant now and some of us may have even forgot what they used to be. If it helps, make a list of a new routine/ schedules to slowly adapt into a new one so that your new 'normal' doesn't seem chaotic and overwhelming.

Remember to stay positive and surround yourself with people that will help and accept the way you're returning back to normality.