We are into Week 2 of Lockdown 2.0, the afternoons are shorter, it is now pitch black when I leave work. I am now doing the automatic light dance, waving my arms to trigger the car park lights to come on. Our office is rural, if there is no moon then stepping out of the bright office is like steeping into the deepest, darkest cave and without the ‘light’ dance you can easily walk right into your car, before you even see it.

Friends are finding this lockdown harder, whether it is the darker nights and rainy days or the fact we had steeled ourselves for Lockdown 1.0 and hoped Lockdown 2.0 would never come but people are finding it tougher. I have adopted a war mindset, we hope we are winning but we won’t really know until it is really over and that we may have to make sacrifices for longer, so I will do the best for me and mine but I will Keep Calm and Carry On.

The advice I have given to friends who are struggling is to get outside at every opportunity. There is no exercise curfew of an hour, there are no restrictions to stop you driving to nearby woods, forests, moors or coastlines. Don’t go mad and travel to the Lakes if you live in Kent, but do a little research and find local walks. Make it an outing, dress for the weather, it is rarely as bad as you might think once you are out, take a flask, sandwiches, cake whatever you love and walk. Take time to breathe, look at the views, listen and only think about what you can see, hear and feel at that moment.

My saviour is swimming in the sea, I know it’s November but I find it exhilarating, invigorating and it lifts my mood for ages after. Standing on the beach in nothing but a swimsuit, wetsuit gloves and boots, hair pushed off my face with the wind and salt spray in the air, makes me feel alive. There is a sense of trepidation, will today be the day I can’t get in, how cold will it be? But every time I have overcome these feelings and once I am swimming, then I feel great. I’m not a stylish swimmer, a strong Mum’s breaststroke does me. I need to learn to swim properly, head in, proper breathing so perhaps that’s my 2021 challenge.

Even if it is too rough and dangerous to swim, you can sit or stand on the shoreline and let the water wash up to you and even if it’s not fully immersive, the sea does something, it gets under your skin, lifts your spirits and leaves you buzzing.

So if life is getting you down, let nature wash over you, whether that is from a wave or the air from a walk in the woods, it will help you find balance.

If you want to find out more about cold water swimming (it’s not always cold but our seas are not tropical) then please check out https://thebluetits.co