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This winter is going to be hard going for lots of people, in lots of way, from lots of angles.

But firstly if you’re one of the people that’s not having a hard time, I recon it’s your responsibility to seek out some people that are having a hard time and try and make their hard time a little less hard.

If you’re one of the people, the many people that are having a hard time then here’s a couple of tips below that helped me through the first lockdown when I was having a much harder time than the time that I’m liable to have this winter.

As I write this blog (Sunday 11^th) I’m not long back off a 3 hour bike ride, part of which was with my friends and ‘the squirrels’ which is a group that ride on a Sunday and me and Louis Dunne.

Louis and I rode for 3 hours, an hour longer than ‘the squirrels’ but 20 minutes into the bike ride with everybody around about 7.20 we crested over a hill which looks over the Vale of Belvoir, the sun was rising and the view was absolutely stunning and Louis and I looked at each other from the front of the group and really didn’t have to say very much.

Louis understands how special that is and I understand it too, pretty much to the point that almost nobody got to see that because it was 7.20 on a Sunday morning and everybody was in bed.

Seek out the beautiful things that are free.

During lockdown the first time it was tempting just to get drunk at night because that made it feel a bit better for those 3 hours. I knew that wasn’t the answer because it’s never the answer because the depression and the fear and the anxiety that comes in the aftermath of that makes it far worse and makes you want to drink again therefore making it far worse.

I know you know this but know it again and action it.

3) Eating does not make it better either (see number 2 but substitute eating for drinking).

4) Any aspect of exercise that’s outside makes it better.

Walking, walking your dog, walking with friends (brilliant), anything that gets the wind in your face and the sun (or rain) on your back makes it better.

5) See number 4, Netflix does not make it better; it makes it worse.

6) Sleep makes it better.

Up to and including about 8-9 hours of sleep, more than that makes it worse.

April 2021 will arrive for almost all of us. Keep that in mind when it’s hard and dark in the middle.

One way or another it will be spring and in spring it will be different.

Blog Post Number - 2520