Mental health during covid

• We hear what our listeners have been doing to stay sane and to look after themselves during the pandemic

• We discuss how COVID-19 is effecting people’s mental health

• We think about how we have changed during the pandemic and what we have learnt about ourselves

How much sanity do I have left?

The coronavirus pandemic has restructured the world as we knew it, with restrictions on who we can interact with safely, and how we can interact safely, many people have been pushed into a very strange kind of isolation. In the UK we're in the middle of our second lockdown, and more curfews and restrictions are being introduced worldwide every day. Not to mention all the people that have lost their lives or loved ones, and all the people that have lost their jobs. Life is always unpredictable, but we have never experienced unpredictability like this. There is so much uncertainty that has come with the pandemic: about when we will return to ‘normal’; about when you’ll get to see someone again; whether you are infecting or harming people you love; or whether someone or something is worth all the time apart.

We understand, and so this week we wanted to sit down and update our previous COVID-19 episode (Sex, Love and COVID-19), as well as outline, through your submissions, a diverse range of experiences and coping mechanisms. We asked, ‘What have you been doing to look after yourself during the pandemic?’: from making the bed to listening to wise Buddhist monks, we shared some of your self care tips. We also asked how many people’s mental health has been affected, with the majority admitting that it had been affected negatively. Lastly, we get an update on what everyone's dating lives have looked like during the pandemic, from long distance relationships, to break ups, to sexting, nudes, and difficult marriages. Sex and relationships have been hard during the pandemic, particularly in lockdown, and we wanted to get an update on what they look like now versus before.

We ultimately discuss how people have changed during the pandemic and how we have seen ourselves change. We celebrate our listeners' achievements and remind everyone that even though lockdown can make life feel very monotonous it’s important to take a look at what has been going on and what we have actually achieved, and congratulate ourselves and our listeners for having the strength and patience to take this experience in and remind everyone that it’s okay not to be okay.

Let us know what you’ve been doing to stay sane during the pandemic!

More podcast episodes about COVID-19