Things to do in Lockdown evenings to help your Mental Health...

Hello everyone,

I do hope you are all keeping well, today I thought I would share with you some ideas of what to do in the evening of Lockdown to help with your Mental health and if you have any anxieties of course ruin this difficult time. I find it is in the evenings I am most anxious as I feel I have gotten the majority for the things I need to do done and this is when I have most time to think. I feel like I have pretty much perfected my morning routine , so If you would like to hear more about that I will be happy to write a post about it. I do feel like I am still currently in the process of building an evening routine and sticking to it...

1. Set aside time for each activity...

This may seem a little odd, however I find allocating time for each thing I do in the evenings often give the evening more structure and make them not drag for a long time. I tend to have dinner around 6 ish so after this I will spend some time with my family and then from 8:30 I will go up into my bedroom and do my skincare and watch youtube videos or do anything I need to do that I hadn't gotten done in the day.I find setting time just makes the evening flow and makes you look forward to it.

2. Cook delicious food 

This is a great one if you need to work on your cooking skills or if you just love to cook. I love cooking and also enjoy finding things you already have in the cupboards and making up something. You could also try a new recipe or something you have always wanted to try. I also think re creating one of your favourite restaurant meals is another great thing to do and work on seeing how much you can make it taste like the real thing. this can pass so much time and eating the food with your family is always really rewarding.

3. Make time for skincare and Pampering

I feel like this is a given, pampering is one of my favourite things to do in the evening and passes by so much time. I make sure I do this thoroughly and make an evening of it as sometimes I do not have the time to do this. I always make sure if I am not pampering, to always fit in my skincare routine. Often I don't feel like taking my make up off or cleansing my skin, but I always than myself when I do do it. So making time and remembering to do your skincare routine is a great thing to do. Maybe take more care and time than you usually would and if you don't have a skincare routine, spend time testing out new products or ones you have forgotten about. 

4. Do some colouring

As much as I always go on my phone far too much before bed, I find doing some colouring is a great way to stay occupied without technology. I find it so relaxing, especially before bed and I also find it helps a lot with when I am feeling down or anxious. its also so satisfying when you complete one.

5. Practise yoga

This is another thing I have started to do as I have been feeling pretty anxious during this time. I have tried so many things to incorporate into my evening routine to help me sleep better and relax myself before bed. I find even doing 5-10 minutes of yoga in an evening just before bed really helps me to relax and focus on my breathing. I have made a playlist on youtube of all of the saved Yoga workouts and my favourite one to follow is 10 minute simple yoga with Sarah Beth Yoga. I find its so easy to follow and not anything too complex so if you have never practised yoga before you will love this .

6. FaceTime your friends

This is something I find passes so much time and of course its always lovely to catch up with your friends. I find sometimes you can be talking for ages and not even notice. This is really nice as its always something to look forward too. Sometimes on a Sunday myself and Sam will FaceTime whilst we plan our weeks and alothough we are pre occupied doing our own thing, its nice to have some company and know someone else is there so you are not all alone.

I really hope that these ideas helped you and you feel like it may help with your anxieties and distract you a little. See you soon 

Cristy N 

x x x