There was a quite a bit of talk on social media a few weeks ago about the term ‘languishing’ and how many of us are probably in this state during lockdown. The definition of the word from dictionary.com is as follows:
- to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade.
- to lose vigor and vitality.
We may identify with this and say that we are feeling ‘bleh’ – feeling a bit like these sad looking flowers – right?
So how do we avoid the next step towards depression and turn back to laughing?
I can honestly say that I have been feeling pretty ‘bleh’ during lockdown this year. Although we do make an effort to get up and going each day, it becomes more and more difficult to laugh about it all as the time goes on.
I am retired so I don’t have to balance work with other tasks but it can be a bit boring at times as we can’t go out and we can’t get the things done around the house that need doing (there are some construction things to be done). We are being forced to mark time when we would like to move forward with some major changes in our lives!
I do try to be positive though and I can usually drag myself back from languishing to laughing again by being creative and physically active.
Here are some ideas for you to try….
Take up a new sport or do some kind of exercise more frequently: I usually swim 4 mornings a week and can’t do that at the moment. I used to do yoga on a Friday morning. So now I do online yoga every day instead of swimming. I am part of an online yoga community and can literally access a yoga class any time of day or night. But, usually I choose to do the live classes so I feel like I am having some social contact! I have also started doing a weights sessions 3 times every week and a session of Pilates each week. If I stay strong then getting back to swimming will be easy. There are lots of online exercise programs available now and they are easy to sign up to.
Writing: I write in our blog on a regular basis – just like I am doing with this post. It helps me write down how I am feeling and coping with our current situation. As part of my blog writing I am trying out many of mum’s old recipes ready for publishing on the blog. New meal ideas are great when you need a lift.
Special Occasions with a Virtual Twist: Planning special meals and having virtual meals and drinks with family can also help to lift the spirits. For example, I cooked birthday lasagna and carrot cake a while ago for a family birthday. We delivered the presents and food to the birthday girl and kept some food for us. We all had lunch together (virtually) and even blew out the candles. Not ideal but it was fun working out how we could still celebrate without physically being together. A friend posted that she and her family had just done a virtual wine tasting – they had fun! I believe that the fun comes from the creativity – trying to overcome the situation we are in to find ways to connect and to laugh! Another family I know is ‘travelling the world’ every Saturday night with dress ups, music, food and drink to celebrate different cultures and destinations. Precious memories are being created for every member of the family.
Being crafty: I mentioned creativity – well this also extends to craft. Last year I spend hours making face masks then decided that I could make lots of other things too. I made Christmas banners, place mats, a poncho to wear to the pool, bags and yoga bolsters. I also started knitting and have now made lots of scarfs, a jacket, some rugs and even some cushions and an ottoman. I knitted dishcloths for the family too to help them reduce the use of disposable plastic sponge products. It is fun and therapeutic to make things from scratch!
Gardening: Personally I believe that the most beneficial part of gardening when you feel a bit down is just being outside in the sun and fresh air. I do like trying new things too such as growing some plants from seed or transplanting shrubs in different places around the garden to find the best place for them and planting ‘potted colour’ plants to brighten up the yard!
Being social: This is not something that I do a lot of as I don’t have friends to call anymore. But Andrew and I make sure that our children and elderly relatives are contacted regularly. If you find that it is contact with others you miss the most but you don’t want to call then try writing letters or cards to people and encourage them to write back.
Watching funny movies: We will often sit and watch a kids movie that makes us laugh.
What are your ideas to help you turn from languishing to laughing?
What Next?
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Until next time,
Gillian (and Andrew)
