Concerns about lockdown easing?

Lockdown has been difficult for many people.

When we were in full lockdown across the UK things might have felt more certain, as the rules were more clear.

Now things might start feeling less clear, and there may be new challenges.

Please see the guidance below as produced by Mind

What might I be feeling about lockdown easing?

You might feel relieved or excited when lockdown is eased where you live. But you might also find yourself feeling less positive about the changes. You may move through a range of difficult feelings and thoughts.

For example:

• Stressed and unprepared for the changes that are coming.
• Anxious, afraid or panicked that the changes may cause an increase in infections. Or that someone you care about may now be put at risk when they weren’t before. For example if your children might be asked to go back to school or nursery.
• Angry or frustrated. Perhaps because people aren’t following social distancing rules, and now can’t avoid them. Or you feel that the changes are wrong, or the measures in place aren’t enough. Other people may seem to have more freedom than you, if you’re shielding or live somewhere with more restrictions. Or you may feel that the changes will make your work more difficult or higher risk, especially if you’re a key worker.
• Conflicted or confused. For example, you may want to socialise more if it’s allowed, but feel like perhaps you should still stay at home.
• Protective of your lockdown routine, like you’d rather not have to deal with more change or uncertainty.
• Grief for people who have died, and that you want to avoid more loss.
• Reluctant or unmotivated to rearrange events that couldn’t happen during full lockdown. This could be big birthday celebrations or weddings, or everyday things like barbecues, meet-ups, or dating.
• Uneasy about relationships that have changed during full lockdown.
• Distrustful of the Government’s reasons for changing the rules, or how things are portrayed in the media.
• Powerless, like you don’t have a say in anything that’s happening.
• Stigmatised or that others will avoid you. Perhaps because you’ve already had coronavirus, or they think your work makes you more likely to spread the virus.
• Like you’re having to make an unfair sacrifice. For example if you are being asked to go back to work when others are still able to stay at home.
• Under pressure to return to work when you can’t, or when you feel it’s not safe to.
• Unsupported or disregarded, perhaps if you’re asked to go back to work without having access to things like childcare, personal protective equipment (PPE), or safe transport.

Remember:

• There’s no ‘normal’ response to lockdown or lockdown easing.
• Your feelings might change. You might feel one way one day, and another way the next. It might not feel logical.

Your feelings might be influenced by:

• your personal situation
• what lockdown has been like for you
• your own views about what’s happened so far, and what should happen next
• lots of things that are out of your control.

As restrictions are being lifted differently around the UK, it might feel like others are following different rules to you. Your general mood may feel quite different to full lockdown, when most people were following the same rules.