Life During Lockdown
By Ellie Mae Wells
Photograph: Ellie Mae Wells
As I’m sure many would agree, the lockdown has been a struggle. People have lost their jobs, lost loved ones and have also struggled mentally and financially. It is safe to say that the past year has been like no other. Although at times I struggled mentally as well, I know I am not alone. The way I like to perceive it is that lockdown presented me with an opportunity for growth and time to reflect. So I shan’t proclaim and complain that I wish lockdown never happened because if it didn’t I wouldn’t be who I am today or writing this now. I’m grateful because it gave me a chance to invest time in myself. The time I never really had or that I never bothered to make. It truly made me understand the importance of making time!
After some much-needed reflection, it came to my attention the power my thoughts hold. I realised that we don’t give enough credit to or even attention to how potent our thoughts are. A simple way to put it is if I constantly think and tell myself I’m so ugly I’m going to eventually start to believe it. No matter if people tell me the complete opposite, because I think it and begin to believe in it, it becomes embedded in my subconscious.
Furthermore, I learned that we can reprogram the subconscious and that there are many ways of doing it, this is when I came across affirmations and the impact they can have.
One way I like to think of it is we train muscles with the result being to gain more strength. The same can be done with the subconscious, with the right training it can become stronger and work in our favour instead of against us. Lockdown meant I could unlearn all the limiting beliefs I told myself and because I believed them I then acted upon them. If I think and feel ugly I’m going to act upon that and be very conscious about how I look and therefore start to compare myself to others.
Once I became aware that I should be holding myself accountable for my happiness instead of holding others accountable for it; I started to prioritise myself, I started doing things for myself. I began to do things that brought joy into my life. I wrote a list of all the things that I love and made me happy, I would surely recommend doing this!
I would go for a walk in nature which I think is important for our mental well-being and spending time in a wooded area is a proven mood booster, especially after spending so long seeing the same four walls. I always feel revitalised after coming back from a long walk.
I also learned how to meditate which is by no means easy at the start nor is it far from impossible. I know I struggled in the beginning but with practice, it became much easier.
Photograph: Ellie Mae Wells
There is a great beginner guide on how to meditate on Netflix called “Headspace Guide to Meditation”, after meditating I always find myself feeling more at ease and relaxed than what I did beforehand.
I also began to cook and bake more, and try out new recipes and strengthen the dishes I had previously made. One of my favourite dishes that I made for the first time would be the vegan Mac n cheese which I made exactly the same way except with vegan alternatives. I also started making juices for myself which I think is pretty fun to make but also tastes so refreshing. After realising I had been too consumed with things going on outside of my control and many other factors, I ordered some new books and learned to love reading again. In doing this I noticed how much I missed reading a book.
Something I feel made a positive difference to my lockdown was clearing my clutter, not just all the physical things I’d been hoarding and holding onto for months if not years, as well as clearing up my mental clutter; which is just as important!
Photograph: Noémi Macavei-Katócz
I’d heard from a few different sources the positives associated with journaling. I felt obliged to try it, so I went out and bought a journal, the one I felt most drawn to, and made journaling a part of my day to day routine.
There is so much power in writing things down that you don’t talk about and keep bottled up for so long.
It did help me to let go of all the things I held back and didn’t want to talk about so writing them down for sure gave me some peace of mind. For so long I had been putting off and prolonging clearing my clutter. I would make up any excuse not to do it, I just didn’t want to do the work. But I eventually stopped making excuses and just did it! I let go of things I no longer needed or used, things I was just allowing to collect dust, things that no longer made me happy, limiting beliefs and things that were no longer serving a purpose in my life.It felt amazing once I was rid of it all, it gave me a much-needed boost.
Overall, lockdown taught me a lot and a lot about myself. It’s normal to have a bad day. Take time to do the things you love and things you’ve been neglecting, after all, there is no better time than the present.
Make peace with what is and what cannot be changed, live in the now!
About Author: Ellie Mae Wells is currently taking time to unlearn & relearn, heal and follow her truth. She is only doing things that bring her joy and pleasure such as connecting with Mother Nature, cooking and writing.
