How do you handle life if you can’t leave your home?

It’s a sad reality of the 2020s is that we cannot eradicate Covid entirely from our lives. In fact, there’s a flare-up in the UK right now that arguably isn’t getting the attention it needs. It is also anticipated that the situation will get worse over the winter months.  And so, once again, many people are finding themselves isolating. And coping when you can’t leave your home can be challenging.

Covid likes to play with us and there isn’t a one-set-of-symptoms catch-all. Covid is hitting people with varying degrees of severity. You might be unable to leave your bed, or maybe feel physically not too bad but mentally your head is in the clouds. Functioning normally might seem unachievable and apart from not wanting to pass on the virus, you are just not well enough to go out of the house.

But what about everything else? If you can’t go anywhere and everyone close to you is either isolating or busy, who can you turn to? What steps should you take? We’ve put together a handy guide to coping when you can’t leave your home.

Covid tests and meds

Vaccinations certainly seem to be effective, but there isn’t a pill to miraculously keep us safe. One can only hope that changes. But in the meantime, you’re going to have to keep track of whether you are Covid positive and when that is likely to change, which means you need some at-home tests readily available.

Plus, you might want to stock up on some over-the-counter medicines that can help ease some of the symptoms, such as paracetamol for cold symptoms or pain or a cough bottle etc. Although don’t forget to consider natural options such as CBD to alleviate pain first as some medications are addictive.

But how do you get your supplies if you can’t leave the house? Some local pharmacies may have delivery options, but there are many convenient online options such as Cloud Pharmacy, one of the UK’s reputable pharmacy delivery systems. Get everything from birth control to ear infection treatments, delivered straight to your door.

Whenever using an online pharmacy, do ensure that it is registered pharmacy which is licensed and governed by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

Are your cupboards stocked?

Chances are you’ve been taken by surprise by Covid. If you’re lucky, you have a full fridge just stocked yesterday with enough food to keep you going for a couple of weeks. But when are we ever lucky? It’s time to take the supermarkets up on their delivery services. Unfortunately, in the UK that excludes Aldi and Lidl, but Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Waitrose and Asda all have delivery options where you can buy online. Avoid the impulse to buy food you probably can’t taste anyway, but stock up with quality fresh and basic foods that will enable you to quickly make yourself nourishing meals.

And if you don’t fancy cooking one night, that’s what JustEat and Deliveroo are there for. At Healthy Life Essex, we naturally advocate healthy eating, but a takeaway now and again when you don’t feel well isn’t going to do you any harm, so don’t beat yourself up about it if it isn’t something you normally do.

One good thing that occurred due to lockdowns is that a lot more quality restaurants are listing their foods on delivery services so you don’t need to get a basic takeout for the third time in a week, and many restaurants ensure healthier food options are available, providing a great alternative when you are trying to cope with essentials without leaving your home.

Exercise

It’s not a good idea to be stationary for so long, but we’re not about to tell you that when you have Covid is prime time for an hour-long workout.

No matter how light it hits you, it’s likely to hit your lungs and energy, which means you’re going to feel like you’re destroying yourself just walking up the stairs. But it could be helpful to incorporate some low impact exercise into your day just to make sure you don’t stiffen up entirely. Try out some yoga or hula hoop inside your home just to get you moving a little without feeling like death.

If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere rural, where you’re not likely to contaminate anyone else, take a walk. But be sure to only do what you can. Being realist about what you can and can’t do, such as not worrying about things like the housework, is an important way of coping when you can’t leave your home but are too poorly to cope with a great deal else.