Keeping connected amid the chaos of lockdown

My seven-year-old son and his friends have been enjoying regular after-dinner FaceTime chats where they can share snot jokes and try to outdo each other with their outrageous computer backgrounds. Donald Trump seems to feature a lot. Their peals of laughter are uplifting.

How's the home schooling? Well, I've learnt a lot. Have Googled everything from "What is a supplementary angle?" to "What is a prefix?".

I've had some wins in lockdown. Worked out myself why the washing machine wouldn't drain. I took apart the s-bend and found a tiny button blocking the drainage hole. I was so smug I was about to buy a Jim's Plumbing franchise.

Then on Tuesday night I woke briefly to what I thought was rain. And then woke again to realise that a pipe had burst in the bathroom sink and actually my house was flooding.

So at midnight I was on the front lawn with a spatula trying to open the water meter box to turn off the water. I might have also been howling at the moon.

So, how's your mental health? Mine is a little strained. Dr Addie Wootten, clinical psychologist and CEO of mental health not-for-profit, Smiling Mind, says I'm probably not alone.

"I think it [lockdown] is taking a big mental toll," she said.

"Uncertainty is a really difficult thing for all of us to manage. We're used to living our lives with a plan and we know what we're working towards and what the next day will bring and this pandemic has thrown up a whole lot of uncertainty.

"The impact of the lockdown means we don't have our normal routine, we don't have our normal social connection that makes us feel good and so there is a real mental health impact for children and young people and adults in general.

"And we know that crisis services are seeing that demand, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney and likely Canberra if the lockdown goes on."

Smiling Mind has simple online activities to encourage good mental health and a free app, that has 6.4 million downloads, which includes daily meditation and mindfulness exercises.

"We've seen big spikes from people [using them] in lockdown and that is a sign people are trying to do something to look after their mental health," Dr Wootten said.

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Kids, she says, are feeling more emotional, maybe having trouble sleeping or having more meltdowns. Parents are feeling tired and burnt out. But don't despair. There are answers.

Dr Wootten says the first thing to recognise in lockdown is that lots of people are in the same situation, these emotions are normal and don't push them away.

"Then think about what are the practical things you could be doing in your day-to-day life that will help you feel better or help you feel you have a bit more control and build a routine into your day," she said.

"We know from the multiple lockdowns that have happened across the world that the people who got through those lockdowns with the best wellbeing are the people who created routines within the confines of what they were able to do.

For kids and families it does mean making sure you keep that same routine. Get up at the same time, have a shower, get dressed, go for a walk, do those things that give you that sense of normality because they're really important for our mental health."

Dr Wootten also recommends trying some new things. It might be mindfulness exercises.

It might be YouTube yoga (which I'm doing with my daughter).

It might be Facetiming your friends to share snot jokes.

Whatever gets you through.

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