You’d be surprised how much grime lurks in these little guys (Picture: Apple)
AirPods are an investment, and have become something of a status symbol for those wearing them.
That’s not exactly true when they’re filthy, though, and that’s easy to be the case if they’re being worn regularly or occasionally left lying around.
Like any piece of tech, they should be cleaned regularly, but it’s important to do so safely so that they don’t get damaged. Apple Care frowns on getting them soaking or filling them with bleach.
Thankfully they’re easy enough to get clean. You just need a few household items and a careful pair of hands.
As part of your usual disinfection sessions, give your headphones a spruce up.
Clean your AirPods
The main thing here is to avoid getting any water into your AirPods at all.
You’ll need a dry, microfibre or other lint-free cloth (something like the Elbow Grease Power Cloths can be useful) and a cotton swab.
Give the outer area of the headphones a wipe with the cloth, getting rid of any dust or marks.
Use the dry swab to get into the mesh area and remove any grime. Try not to push too hard here, as it can push the mesh in too far or make dirt go deeper.
If you have something on the outside of the AirPods that might be damaging and you want to clean off, dab a tiny bit of water on your cloth and leave to almost completely dry. Then wipe the affected area with the cloth, making sure the AirPods are fully left to dry before charging or putting back in the case.
If you have AirPods pro, you can remove the soft tips and run them under water (no soap or cleaners). Just make sure they’re totally dry before putting them back, and align them properly so they don’t fall out.
Clean your AirPods case
The case of your AirPods can get even filthier than the earphones themselves after sitting in your bag or pocket.
To clean these you’ll need some hand sanitiser, a dry cloth, and a dry toothbrush if you have an old one lying around.
Not pushing too hard, gently use the toothbrush to clean the lightning connector and loosen any debris.
Pop a small dab of sanitiser onto your cloth, leaving to dry slightly before wiping the outside of the case.
Leave to dry before using.
Clean your EarPods
If you have the wired Apple EarPods, you’ll want to do the same to the main body of the earphones as you would to AirPods.
Again, make sure that they don’t get wet at any point.
On the wire part, you can use an antibacterial wipe or cloth dipped in hand sanitiser to run along the length.
You might be surprised by how much dirt comes off if it’s been a while since your last clean.
The largest inflatable pub, a Tudor-style local you can hire for £495 (Picture: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)
Missing the pub?
You don’t have to wait for lockdown to end to return to the joyous experience of paying too much money for a freshly pulled pint.
You can find your nearest takeway pint or go closer to home by renting a giant inflatable pub for your back garden, complete with beer hall tables, benches, and enough room for 40 people – although government rules mean you can only actually have five pals to join you (and they’ll need to maintain that two-metre distance).
The Manchester Inflatable Pub Company rents out their pop-up inflatable pub for between £275 and £495 a hire, allowing people to create a local in their garden.
The largest Tudor-style expanding pub is 20ft high, 25ft in length, and measures 20ft in width, meaning you’ll need quite a bit of outdoor space to host it.
Claire Lambert, 39, who works for the company renting out the pub, said: ‘People might not be able to go out and enjoy a drink at their local at present but with the inflatable pub you can bring your local to your back garden.
‘The pub has a real wow factor.
‘You can serve behind the bar and be your own landlord or landlady and you can set your own last orders.
‘People have been having special household-only birthday parties and hiring the inflatable pub as an eye-catching addition.
‘I would use the pub for a special birthday or gathering with friends.
‘It’s a more interesting and cheaper alternative to a function room – I think it’s amazing.’
The company say they have a strict cleaning procedure to make sure their inflatable pub is properly disinfected between uses, so those in need of the pub experience don’t need to panic about hygiene.
Jimmy Duffy, 48, who also works for the company, says: ‘We also encourage customers to clean the pubs themselves after use.
The inside of the inflatable tavern (Picture: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)
‘They’re very quick to put up and our staff ensure they’re anchored into the ground properly.
‘My aim is to enjoy life and give back as much as I can to communities and providing the pub to people as a bit of fun is a way of doing this.’
It’s worth noting that if you are keen to book an inflatable pub but the Manchester Inflatable Pub Company is all hired out, there are other businesses offering similar blow-up pubs.
On Ebay you can find tiny taverns and bigger inflatable bars for hire or to buy, while companies you might traditionally associate with bouncy castles also offer more grownup-friendly options.
And, of course, you can create the pub experience without spending a penny by just pretending you’re in a beer garden, making your floors a bit sticky, or asking your housemate to ignore you when you ask for a pint. Dreamy.
Reni has expressed disappointment that no Black woman has achieved this before her (Pictures: Getty/Metro.co.uk)
Reni Eddo-Lodge has become the first British black woman to top the paperback non-fiction chart – but the author has expressed sadness about the circumstances around this achievement.
Reni first published her seminal book – Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race – in 2017, but there has been a significant boost in reader demand since the Black Lives Matter protests and racial inequality have become part of the international conversation.
‘Well, the numbers are in,’ she wrote on Twitter. ‘I’m the first and only black woman to top Britain’s non-fiction book bestseller chart.
‘Can’t help but be dismayed by this – the tragic circumstances in which this achievement came about.’
She also expressed disappointment and disbelief that it had taken so long for a Black female author to make it to the top of this chart.
‘The fact that it’s 2020 and I’m the first. Let’s be honest. Reader demand aside, that it took this long is a horrible indictment of the publishing industry,’ she added.
‘But a huge achievement nonetheless, to be able to cut through the noise and make an impact,’ wrote one supporter in response to her tweet.
‘It never feels like a plaudit when there should have been many that came before you,’ added another.
‘But also it is a brilliant book. Thank you for having written it.’
Reni’s bestselling book explores what it means to be Black in the UK, it explores Black history, the exclusionary nature of white feminism and the damaging impact of structural racism.
In the aftermath of global protests against racism and police brutality, the book was shared on countless suggested reading lists as many people made a conscious effort to educate themselves on issues of race.
And Reni’s book isn’t the only one to experience a bittersweet boost of sales.
Bernardine Evaristo also broke records yesterday as she became the first woman of colour to top the UK’s paperback fiction chart with her book Girl, Woman, Other.
Let’s hope that in future it doesn’t take worldwide protests in response to horrific injustice for Black writers to have their achievements recognised.
Do you have a story to share? We want to hear from you.
Greece is hoping to welcome new visitors again as the Mediterranean country lowers flight and accommodation costs.
As the country sees a lower risk of coronavirus, it is cutting the Value Added Tax (VAT) or Goods and Services Tax (GST) on all modes of transport from 24% to 13%.
That means flights coming into the country, as well as its public transport and subsequent flights around Greece, will be cheaper.
The country’s holiday season will begin on 15 June, the same date as easyJet reopens its domestic flights.
Speaking last month, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced: ‘The tourism period begins on 15 June, when seasonal hotels can reopen. Let us make this summer the epilogue of the [Covid-19] crisis.
‘We will win the economy war just as we won the health battle.’
From June to 1 July, travellers will be allowed to only fly into Thessaloniki or Athens.
After that, planes will be allowed to resume flying into all destinations.
From June till July you can only fly into Athens and Thessaloniki (Picture: Getty Images)
Greece is allowing a number of countries to fly in, including Britain, but as the U.K has had one of the highest rates of the virus, British travellers will be subject to testing.
The countries that are able to fly in without needing to have tests include Albania, Austria, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany and Finland.
Though easyJet will begin operating from next week, Brits will only be able to travel within the UK or to France without quarantine.
But by the end of July, half of easyJet’s 1,022 routes will be reopened, increasing to three-quarters by August.
Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis added: ‘We are opening up, but at the same time we are closely monitoring the situation. Strict health protocols will protect both staff and tourists.
‘Our aim is to be able to welcome every tourist who has overcome their fear and has the ability to travel to our country.’
Though Australia is included in Greece’s list of welcome countries, Australians will have to wait a little longer before they fly as they are not allowed to leave unless essential.
Could the drive-in cinema save summer movie watching? (Picture: Getty Images)
The UK is gradually easing some of its coronavirus lockdown rules, with the latest changes allowing zoos and safari parks to reopen as well as people who live alone to meet one other household in a ‘support bubble.’
And there’s also new hope for those of us who have been missing the movies – because although cinemas are set to stay shut until at least July, drive-in cinemas are set to re-open to the public from 15 June.
All of which means you can enjoy a night at the flicks while adhering to social distancing measures from the comfort of your car.
But just where can you find one near to you – and do you need a car to visit?
With drive-in cinemas currently springing up across the country, it’s worth keeping tabs on local websites and the like to see if one is heading your way.
However some have already announced their plans for socially distanced summer screenings, although most of them are not starting until July.
Drive-in organisers @TheDriveIn are taking their outdoor movies across the country, with screenings in south London,east London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh among others – and with films set to include Grease (original and singalong version), Toy Story, Joker, Back To The Future and A Star Is Born.
At The Drive In is taking its cinema across the country (Picture: At The Drive In)
If you’re in London you could also check out Drive In theatres, which launches on 4 July at the Troubadour Meridian site in Enfield and promises a big programme of films including Dirty Dancing, Bad Boys For Life, 1917, It, Home Alone, Get Out, The Goonies, The Terminator and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again among others.
Others hosting drive-ins include Luna Cinema, which will be taking the movies to venues including Warwick Castle, Blenheim Palace and Knebworth House as well as Allianz Park in London – while Sunset Cinema has a range of screenings on offer in Twyford Park in Acton, West London.
In all cases, social distancing measures will be in place as well as other measures such as advance booking of tickets and food to ensure contact is kept to a minimum.
Can you go to the drive-in if you don’t have a car?
Look out for the Free Range Film Club this summer (Picture: Free Range Film Club)
While it might be tricky to go to a drive-in movie without a car, other outdoor cinemas are set to launch this summer which will allow you to enjoy a socially distanced film experience without the need for a set of wheels.
They include the Free Range Film Club, which will be hosting outdoor screenings in open spaces across the capital this summer.
While exact locations are yet to be announced, organisers have revealed there will be venues in east, west, south and north London – and to ensure everyone is kept safe, capacity will be limited, spaces will be allocated and groups will be asked to keep apart from others.
For details on location and what films they’ll be showing, keep an eye on their website.
When will indoor cinemas reopen in the UK?
Cinemas are hoping to be open in time for the scheduled release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (Picture: Maureen McLean/REX)
There’s no official date for when indoor cinemas will be reopening in the UK, but it’s likely to be no earlier than 4 July, as part of phase three of the lifting of lockdown restrictions.
Tim Richards, chief executive of the Vue Cinemas chain, has said they hope to have cinemas open again by mid-July, with suggestions that they’ll be open in time for the planned release of Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster Tenet on 17 July.
He recently told Radio 4 the industry was working with the government to find ways of operating safely during the pandemic.
What we are trying to do is work with the government to demonstrate that we are not like sporting fixtures or music concerts,’ Mr Richards said.
‘We can actually control how many people go into our cinema at any given time. We have the ability to schedule our films separately and we have the ability to control entrances and exits for customers.’
‘We have operating systems in place today which allow social distancing and cocooning within the cinema for couples, individuals or families who want to watch a movie.’
You don’t even have to step inside if you don’t want to (Picture: Lush)
Lush is opening 88 of its stores from 15 June but with new measures to protect people from the spread of coronavirus.
The cosmetics retailer is opening again after a three-month hiatus.
When the country went into lockdown, Lush was left with all their stock which included soap and hand creams that were running out in supermarkets at the time.
But in an effort to reduce waste, the store donated the goods to charities and groups in the local community.
Now as the stores look to open again, fresh stock that is only a few days old will be available to the public.
The brand will be putting a number of other safety measures in place including social distancing rules, no hands-on demonstrations, and having a queuing system to enter and leave stores.
The new measures also mean no products will be available for testing, to curb the spread of germs.
What changes can you expect at Lush stores?
Lower staffing levels. Lush will be providing face coverings for staff to use if they wish
A continuous cleaning rota
Customers will be invited to wash their hands as soon as they arrive in store with their own piece of soap peel
No product testers on display
Shops will have pre-filled sample pots of some of Lush’s most popular products, complete with a tamper-proof seal
Till points will be 2m apart and be installed with recycled and recyclable perspex screens
Signage will be on display at the front of each shop to explain the new procedures to customers
Kiosk purchasing at the front door may be set up in a number of shops if they are more comfortable with this, avoiding the need for customers to enter the shop at all.
There will be fewer Lush employees in store and they may be wearing face masks.
Customers can also wash their hands as soon as they walk in.
And if you’re super cautious, you don’t even have to walk in as kiosks will be operating, meaning customers can simply purchase what they want without stepping foot inside.
There will be no more pro (Picture: Lush)
As Lush offers packaging-free products, customers can use the Lush Lens app to get information on the item.
You can get detailed ingredient information, price and ‘how to use’ demonstrations through videos on the app. The feature is available in 30 countries and 20 different languages.
Use the app to get all the product information (Picture: Lush)
The opening dates for Lush stores in Scotland, Wales and Ireland are still to be confirmed.
Mark Constantine OBE, managing director at Lush says: ‘Even with considerable help from governments, local councils, and landlords, so many businesses are not making it through.
‘I am grateful to be here reopening our shops again and feel unbelievably lucky that we had the help.’
Long before coronavirus was even a blip on our collective radar, there was debate around the ‘correct’ form of greeting when meeting up with someone in real life.
The cheek kiss, popular in France but having crept its way over the Channel, has been hotly debated in terms of both awkwardness and appropriateness, with the #MeToo movement prompting panicked missives from businesses and rants from cheek-kissers proclaiming that pressing your lips against a woman’s cheek as a way to say hello was now unacceptable.
The hug can be too friendly. The handshake, meanwhile, all too often feels immensely formal. But even this ‘simple’ greeting option presents complication. A handshake is ripe for judgement – too feeble and you may be too weak to succeed in a certain environment, too quick and you’ve lost face.
Then the pandemic hit and every form of greeting emerged as even more contentious.
The sudden panic around the cleanliness of hands and the danger of physical touch has meant that our go-to forms of greeting suddenly seem repulsive. We’re all too aware of the germs lingering on skin and the risks they may pose.
But once lockdown ends, coronavirus cases drop, and things return to normal, will we rush right back into hand-shaking, hugging, and kissing? Or will this experience prompt a complete change in the way we greet people? And what effects could this have if it does?
It’s worth first looking at the history of our greetings and why we feel the need to say ‘hi’ by putting our lips on a cheek or our hand in someone else’s.
Professor Marcel Danesi, of the University of Toronto, explains that while the handshake has long been a sign of trust and familiarity, the cheek kiss is trickier to trace – it’s not clear how, in the UK, we went from viewing kissing as a primarily romantic act to some people using it as a greeting.
Professor Danesi tells Metro.co.uk: ‘While these [forms of greeting] may seem to reach back to antiquity, they emerge much later, at least with the meanings we now give to them.
‘The kiss as a greeting ritual is actually quite old, and is found for example in Roman culture. The romantic lip kiss is likely to come from the medieval period, which is when “famous lover’s kisses” are extolled in tales, such as the Romeo and Juliet and Paolo and Francesca ones.
‘To this day, we do not normally see the lip kiss as a greeting, but as something either romantic or sexual. Interestingly, lip kiss in some contemporary cultures, such as Slavic ones, is a form of greeting. Cheek-kissing is difficult to trace, and, to me, is likely to emerge as a greeting ritual in more recent times.
‘Other cultures, such as in Asia, Africa, and other parts, do not commonly kiss the face anywhere. This suggests that kissing is a sign system that develops through specific historical events, becoming part of rituals over time.
‘Handshaking emerges as a “tie sign,” to show that the hands of the greeters did not hide some weapon, binding them together in friendship.
‘The time frame for this is uncertain but it became common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (as far as can be told). It evolved into a sign of courtesy and contact in more recent times. But it still retains iris original connotations. If someone gives you her hand as a part of greeting and you do not take it, it will be interpreted as conflictual or even a challenge of sorts.’
Hugs seem to be preferred by younger generations as the informal option of greeting, used for friends rather than in workplace settings.
All these forms of greeting have cultural connotations and we follow the conventions in part because of what it would say if we didn’t.
Pre-coronavirus, a rejection of a handshake, for example, would be considered rude for reasons that don’t really make sense without knowing the culture around handshakes. It’s just what we do, and if you don’t engage in these cultural traditions you position yourself as an outsider, not part of the group.
But there are psychological benefits to these small moments of physical touch, outside of the massive cultural significance they hold.
Even a simple handshake helps us connect (Picture: Getty)
‘Research shows that touch and physical contact are hugely important in maintaining relationships, with partners, family and friends,’ says Jacqui Gabb, the chair of sociology and intimacy at The Open University.
‘Hugging can reduce stress hormones and release the hormone oxytocin – also known as the ‘cuddle’ or ‘feel-good’ hormone. The more oxytocin you release, the more you want to hug and touch. It’s a snowball effect. It makes us feel connected.
‘Touch is never one way. When we reach out and rest a hand on the shoulder of someone we care about, the action is reciprocal. We feel the weight of the embodied interaction. You are touching them, and they are being touched by you. So touch literally connects us.’
Even a handshake, which seems such a passing, un-intimate form of interaction, prompts the release of hormones associated with physical touch, fostering instant connection and positive emotions.
Humans are social, tactile creatures, and we often crave physical touch without even realising it. Simply the prolonged absence of hugging, handshakes, and hugs can make us feel increasingly lonely.
But the reality is that physical greetings with everyone we meet simply isn’t a hygienic habit. While that quick hug might pose benefits for our social connections and our mental wellbeing, it also poses risks for our physical health.
Microbiologist Nicky Milner, a senior lecturer in biological sciences at Anglia Ruskin University, tells us: ‘Our hands carry large numbers of microorganisms and some of these may well have the potential to make us ill (these are called pathogens).
‘Since we can’t see microorganisms with the naked eye, we are always at risk of picking up or spreading disease-causing microorganisms when we touch any surface, including our own skin.
‘Therefore, when we shake hands with another person, we will inevitably share a number of our microorganism with each other and this can result in us falling ill or spreading infection around a community.’
Purely in terms of preventing the spread of disease, ditching physical greetings entirely is the best way to go – rather than downgrading from a cheek kiss to a handshake or from a hug to an elbow bump.
‘[Cheek kisses and hugs] may still carry a risk with respiratory infections being easier to spread through droplets being released in proximity to our noses and mouths,’ Nicky notes.
‘In terms of spreading infections, the less contact between people the better. This is why social distancing works.’
This knowledge that physical touch can spread disease is why physical greetings have stopped for now – but it’s the fear around that knowledge that may stop their return.
Even once coronavirus has disappeared, the fear around the illness will linger (Picture: Getty Images)
Professor Paul Gilbert, a clinical psychologist at the Uni of Derby who provides academic advice to Compassion in Politics, worries about how the language around coronavirus – specifically the term ‘social distancing’ – might impact our future social interactions.
He previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘We know that pandemics can increase feelings of paranoia and hostility between people, and long periods of time of social distancing may make people more anxious about physical contact.’
Should lingering fears after witnessing the devastating impact of coronavirus put an end to physical greetings, we could see difficulties in connecting with others, more issues of loneliness, and on an individual level, finding that it takes us longer to feel like we really ‘know’ someone.
But will that fear be immense enough to actually put an end to the handshake, the cheek kiss, and the hug? Or will it eventually become a distant memory, allowing us to seamlessly revert back to our old ways?
Experts aren’t so sure.
Jacqui believes that when lockdown is finally lifted, we’ll likely see a significant rise in physical touch with loved ones – and our appreciation of it – compared to before the pandemic, as we’ve fully understood just how vital touch is to our wellbeing.
‘People are craving the return of physical contact,’ she explains. ‘The fist bump and elbow bop are not replacements for the emotional rewards of physical greetings. Even the formal handshake opens up the connection between two people. You get to know something about someone by the way they shake hands, the feeling of their hand on yours, the weight of their physical presence.
‘Concerns over hygiene may remain when we think about our interactions with strangers, but if you ask most people what they’ll say is that they long to hug their friends and family again. For those who live alone, physical contact is what they’ve missed most.’
But when it comes to greeting new people, the pandemic may have forever changed our instinct to stick out our hand for a shake, go in for a kiss on the cheek, or open our arms for a hug.
That caution may linger, carrying us through the awkward ‘oops, we shouldn’t shake hands’ interactions until these gestures are no longer habits.
‘How we regard strangers and those we don’t know may take some while to return to normal – if indeed things do return to how they were before the coronavirus pandemic,’ says Jacqui. ‘It may take some while for us to lose that sense of apprehension around those who are unknown to us.’
It may be the case that while physical touch remains, it becomes recoded as part of loving relationships and is no longer the go-to for introductions. Any longing for that physical touch we’d miss by scrapping handshakes and cheek kisses would be made up for by increased physical interactions with our loved ones, so we wouldn’t be too bothered by those passing bits of touch.
‘Touch is an important form of expression, communication, and bonding throughout the world,’ says Marcel. ‘But it takes various forms, and thus may not be part of greeting rituals.
‘If tactile greetings were eliminated from touch-using systems the consequences would probably be negative at first, but eventually touch will reenter human interaction in other ways.
‘For some evolutionary reason, it’s an important aspect of human communication and expression.’
That being said, habits are hard to break – and Marcel doubts that our fears are actually strong enough to change the greetings we’ve been using for years. He believes it’s more likely that, after a period of caution, handshakes, cheek kisses, and hugs will continue to filter through our interactions and become ‘normal’ once again.
Could this loss of physical touch leave us feeling isolated? (Picture: Getty Images/fStop)
After all, for the handshake to die out, we’d need every single person to stop doing it. The second one person shakes a hand, another person is involved, then they think it’s the norm and go to shake another person’s hand, they shake another’s, and so on.
‘When things go back to normal, or at least, a “new” normal, as they say, greetings will remerge,’ Marcel predicts. ‘Habits die hard – this includes cultural habits.
‘Like words in language, greetings are signs of meaning that may undergo changes, but never really disappear. If they do, then our societies will have changed radically.’
Instead of a dying out of these longheld greeting traditions, we might just see some tweaks to how we do them.
Yes, that might mean the elbow bump becomes more common, which Nicky says is lower risk ‘since clothing, which will not contain high numbers of microorganisms, will act as a barrier’, but also that we’ll simply be more conscious of our personal hand hygiene – meaning that longterm, we may not have to worry that we’ve just shaken hands with someone who doesn’t wash their hands after going to the toilet.
‘By using hand santiser in addition to regular, effective handwashing, the handshake will be more hygienic and this is a reasonable compromise in a world where handshakes and other forms of close contact greetings are cemented into our culture,’ Nicky explains.
‘I am not convinced that handshaking, per se, will stop but I think that the pandemic has highlighted the fact that infections can spread very quickly and easily between people, and that our hands play a significant role in this. It would be wise for people who are exhibiting symptoms of infections, such as sneezing or coughing, to perhaps use alternative methods of greeting as a minimum.
‘I hope that once the pandemic subsides and as we start to go about our usual business we continue to adhere to good, regular handwashing procedures.’
So the future will likely have handshakes, hugs, and cheek kisses – but with greater caution and improved hygiene.
And as with so many of the simple things that made up our lives before the pandemic, physical greetings will take on a renewed meaning now we’ve had to go months without them.
‘Physical tough provides reassurance, and says we’re in this together,’ says Jacqui. ‘I’m here for you. I’ve got you. Without this connection people are feeling physically and emotionally isolated.
‘In these strained and strange times, when we’re feeling alienated, or kept apart from usual routines with one another, the sensation of touch is likely to be even more meaningful.’
What Comes Next?
After months of strict lockdown measures, isolation and anxiety - we're beginning to look to the future.
What will life look like when we emerge into our new normal?
Can things ever be the same as they were? Do we even want them to be the same?
What Comes Next is our series of in-depth features unpicking the possibilities for the future.
Every day for two weeks, we will look at the future of work, dating, mental health, friendships, money, travel, and all the other elements that make up our existence.
Our lives have been turned upside down, but change doesn't always have to be a bad thing.
Faye, 28, shares what it’s like to lose her baby in lockdown (Picture: Shutterstock/Metro.co.uk)
A woman whose baby died when she went into labour at 18 weeks pregnant says she feels abandoned in lockdown.
Faye, 28, who works for a charity in campaigning and communications, lost her child when she suffered from preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM).
PPROM occurs when the amniotic sac that holds the baby and the amniotic fluid ruptures – otherwise known as your waters breaking, – before labour begins. In most cases, this rupture starts labour.
It occurs in only 3% of pregnancies, and mothers must receive antibiotics to prevent infection-related complications in the baby because the amniotic fluid, which protects the baby against infection, is no longer present.
Babies are viable at 24 weeks, so if PPROM occurs then the baby has a 60% chance of survival. Before this, there is an incredibly small likelihood that a baby will survive PPROM.
In Faye’s case, she had to deliver a stillborn baby after 18 weeks of pregnancy. She says that due to coronavirus and lockdown, she has had minimal aftercare.
When Faye found out she was pregnant with a girl in late November 2019, she was met with ‘all the naive emotions that most people are’.
She tells Metro.co.uk: ‘As soon as you see those blue lines on a pregnancy test, you are planning a life for that baby. No matter when you lose your baby, that baby was already a life you had created and planned for.
‘You think about what kind of person they’ll become and what role you will have to play in that. From the moment you see the blue lines on a pregnancy test, you are a mother.’
Faye had a healthy pregnancy. At the routine 12 week scan, she was told everything looked perfectly fine.
After this scan, she says she felt ‘invincible’.
‘We naively thought that everything that could have gone wrong would have gone wrong before this point, so we felt in a very false sense of security,’ Faye says.
‘On that day, we felt like we had everything. Our baby looked healthy and was kicking away, and we had our future planned out.
‘I’d do anything to go back to that day and be the naive mother to be that I was in that moment.
Faye has felt abandoned in lockdown (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
‘That’s the hardest thing about baby loss, it takes away your naivety and excitement for a future pregnancy. Your view of the world completely changes.
‘When you have given birth to a baby that will never come home, you have come into contact with two things that should never collide – life and death, and with that comes a layer of complexity that is impossible to understand unless you have experienced it yourself.’
Soon after finding out she was pregnant, Faye told her friends and family, her work colleagues and shared the news on social media. She was so excited to tell everyone so that they could celebrate with her.
But in March, just as the UK went into lockdown and 18 weeks into Faye’s healthy pregnancy, everything changed when her waters broke.
‘It was the middle of the night and my waters were dripping’, she says.
‘It was just like the movies. I stood up and was gushing with water. We went straight to A&E in our car, but I knew in that moment we were losing our baby.
‘I had an internal scan and was told my cervix hadn’t opened and to head home and come back the next day for a scan. The following day we headed to our local hospital and were told the news I already knew, our baby wasn’t going to survive.
‘I had a severe infection myself and was becoming unwell. I was told I’d need to deliver the baby, something that felt pretty barbaric, and still does.’
Faye was told she would need to go through labour to deliver a dead baby, an incredibly traumatic experience.
‘You should never have to deliver a baby that doesn’t come home,’ she tells us. ‘I had always joked about what kind of birth I’d have. I’d already researched how to push for an elective C-Section because giving birth wasn’t something I felt was for me.
‘Yet just days later i was being met with the news that I would have to deliver a dead baby that would never make it home. It really is a nightmare, but you can and do get through it.
‘And in a strange way, you feel proud that you birthed your child, even though it was in circumstances that you never ever imagined.’
This is a horrific experience at any time, but for Faye going through PPROM has been made even harder by the pandemic.
She says: ‘Losing a baby is hard enough, yet losing a baby in lockdown has felt so much harder.
‘I haven’t seen the majority of my friends or family since I found out I was pregnant. Which to me, makes it hard to accept that she was ever alive at all.
‘It has felt like the world has been mocking me’ (Picture: Virgin Miri/Metro.co.uk)
‘I had morning sickness every day and had had a quiet few months before lockdown trying to save money for our future while also trying to get anywhere without throwing my guts up.
‘In a way it has felt like the world has been mocking me. There are parents everywhere talking about homeschooling, kids popping up onto work Zoom meetings, and people moaning about their holidays being cancelled.
‘Anyone experiencing grief, whether it’s for a baby or someone who has lived a long time, has had their grief exasperated by this whole lockdown experience. Everyone keeps saying “we’re all in this together”, but we aren’t.
‘Everyone’s experience of lockdown is so different, especially for those dealing with grief or the loss of a baby.
‘What shocked me the most throughout this whole experience though is the lack of mental health support for people experiencing baby loss, especially amid a pandemic, when a whole new level of complexity is added to an existing impossible situation.
‘I left the hospital having given birth to a dead baby the night before, with no access to mental health support. I had gone from choosing baby names to choosing what kind of post mortem I wanted, and was left to navigate this alone.’
Faye was told by her midwife that a charity called Petals, a baby loss counselling charity, may be able to support her, but that she was incredibly unlikely to be referred as the charity didn’t currently serve patients at her hospital.
Thankfully, she was able to access support by referring herself to the charity online.
‘I was crying down the phone to my midwife that I didn’t know how I was going to cope, yet was told that there was potentially no specialist mental health support available to me at that time,’ Faye explains.
‘I was being let down by a system that was meant to protect me at my most vulnerable.
‘I looked into the Petals charity myself and referred myself online. Luckily they had availability and I have been having sessions ever since, albeit online due to COVID-19.
‘Had the pandemic not hit, there is a chance I would not have had any access to counselling because they operate outside of my local area. It’s sad that I feel that I am lucky, in an incredibly unlucky situation, because I have received the support I have needed through Petals.
‘But had I not thought to self refer, or researched that that was an option, I do not know what state my mental health would have been in.
‘I am angered and disappointed that women in my position are potentially facing this alone, amid a global pandemic, where they may not be able to see their friends or family. Not only that, but it also means that people are relying on local health services that are already underfunded and under pressure to serve others in need of support in my local area.
Faye feels there has been a lack of support for those going through loss in lockdown (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
‘Following the loss of a baby, women need support, and shouldn’t have to wait potentially months for other mental health services to become available when they are already dealing with such a traumatic experience.’
Statistics show that women who do not receive support for their mental health following baby loss are much more likely to develop mental health issues such as PTSD, which has a long-term impact not only on their mental health but also physical health, their careers and their relationships.
Had Faye not found help with Petals, which she is given for free, she feels this would have happened to her.
She adds: ‘I want my daughter to leave a legacy beyond a signature on a post mortem file, so I’ll keep pushing for her memory to help others in pushing for mental health support.’
For Faye, lockdown has felt like a ‘weird nightmare’ she is ‘waiting to wake up from’.
‘In the space of six months, I have lost a baby, gone through a global pandemic, and haven’t had the usual help of my friends or family,’ she tells us.
‘Life has been stuck at a standstill, and I haven’t been able to cope with this situation in the way I would normally, which has been incredibly testing for my mental health.
‘I am coping – with thanks to my amazing husband, and the support of Petals, who have been invaluable.
‘Some days it’s impossible, other days it’s okay. Grief isn’t linear and there isn’t an emotion I haven’t felt in the last few months.
‘The future is unknown. I think whenever you lose a baby, your mind goes into overdrive and you question everything around you. Everyone is different, and everyone will deal with it differently.
‘For some women they may want to try again straight away, and there is no right way of dealing with it.
‘Personally I am taking the time I need to grieve for this baby, get the answers I need to know whether this will happen again, and then try for another baby when my mental health is in a place that I am ready for it.
‘At first I wanted to try straight away, I was obsessed with the idea of having another baby to help with the loss of this one. But I know for me personally, waiting is the best outcome for any future baby and my own mental health.’
Faye says she is ‘terrified of the future’. The lack of research into baby loss means that women are often left navigating such an isolating world without the answers they need to move on and try again.
‘I have been asked so flippantly by so many people when we’ll try again or “just try again”,’ said Faye.
‘It’s never that simple. Until you’ve lost a baby, it’s hard to understand the complexity and sadness around it.
‘I have no idea if I’ll ever be a mother, and for me, that’s one of the hardest things in all this. Baby loss takes away the excitement every woman should feel in starting a family.
‘There are no positives when it comes to losing a baby. There is no rhyme and reason. In all honesty, it’s just rubbish. You search for your answers on Google and find none.
‘You go through so many processes of grief from blaming yourself, blaming others, wondering why it happened to you, angry at other people, and then trying to come to terms and accept it.
‘I’m glad I’m at that second stage now, but it has taken time and it has been hard, sometimes impossible, and some days it still is. I am trying to take this though as something I can learn from, and be better from.
‘I used to speak so carelessly about having children and I will now always speak with caution and care.
‘I’ll never be the woman lusting over the photo of my baby in the waiting room, knowing that the person next to me could either have just experienced a loss or be managing anxiety with a pregnancy after loss.
‘My view of the world is so different to what it was 12 months ago. It’s gone from a place of naivety to a place that can go so incredibly wrong, so incredibly quickly. But I am kinder and more cautious because of it.’
Faye is sharing her story to break the taboo of talking about baby loss and call for more support for those experiencing grief in lockdown.
Faye adds: ‘What I have had to tell myself the most though is that I have not failed. Society has failed me in making me think that I have.
‘There is such a taboo in talking about fertility. Society tells us it’s the easiest and most natural thing in the world. But for many of us, it isn’t. It’s hard to accept the future that you have been given.
‘I am still so angry that I lost my baby, that she died amid a lockdown and that I haven’t been able to get on with my life in the way I had wanted to. I can’t go out and get drunk at the pub and get my old life back.
‘We are also now awaiting genetic testing to determine if we can have children in the future, which again, may be delayed due to covid 19. The whole pandemic has had to put our future on hold.
‘Life is still and isn’t moving on in the way it should be because of the outbreak of COVID-19. Losing a baby has been so hard, but losing one amid a global lockdown has often felt impossible, cruel, and as if we are being tormented by not being able to “carry on”.
‘There is no “get on with it”, we’re all just stuck here, waiting for the world to start again. A world that is so different to the one we entered before lockdown, because it is one without our baby.’
Jasmine was inspired by her mum to study medicine (Picture: Jasmine Kudji/NBC)
Cynthia and Jasmine Kudji may look like sisters, but they’re actually mother and daughter.
And, not only do they look alike, they’re also both newly-qualified doctors, both graduating this year.
AND, to add to their myriad similarities, they’re also due to start their work placements at the very same hospital, finding out their residency details recently.
Jasmine went to medical school in Louisiana State University while her mother went to the University of Medicine and Health Sciences on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, and although they found it hard to be apart from each other it appears they’ll be together for a long time to come.
‘We really are each other’s best friends and we constantly rely on each other,’ Jasmine told NBC News.
‘Medical school is not set up to work by yourself.’
They dealt with the distance by studying together over Skype and calling each other constantly to help with their test prep.
Cynthia and Jasmine went on to graduate at the same time, and found out that they’d be completing their residencies at Louisiana State University Health on 20 March.
Dr. Cynthia Kudji, left, and Dr. Jasmine Kudji (Picture: Jasmine Kudji / NBC)
‘We were so excited,’ Jasmine, 26, said. ‘Our life has never been planned, and you never know what’s going to happen. It was one of the best moments of my life.’
49-year-old Cynthia initially decided to become a doctor aged 17, after a family trip back to her native Ghana (where her family had emigrated from when she was two) inspired her to do what she could to help others.
She went on to study biology at Tulane University, but found out she was pregnant with Jasmine in her final year.
The mum changed tack, instead going to nursing school and gaining a masters in the subject before working as a nurse for over a decade while raising her daughter.
As Jasmine got older, Cynthia was able to realise her dream by studying to become a doctor, which coincided with with her daughter following in her footsteps.
The only difference now is that Jasmine will be specialising in surgery while Cynthia will be focusing on family medicine.
‘This is a time when physicians can be leaders, show that we contribute, we make a difference in people’s lives. This is where we get the opportunity to serve,’ Cynthia said.
‘I’m glad I’ll get to do something that people need now more than ever with my daughter.’
Do you have a heartwarming story to share with the world?
David and Laura face a lot of hatred online (Picture: Barcroft Media)
They say music is the food of love, and that is certainly true for Laura and David who fell for each other despite a 29-year age gap.
Laura-Marie Jenks, 23, has been dating David Oliver, 52, ever since she tracked him down on Facebook after hearing him sing on a punk rock song, and now they live together in Mere, Wiltshire. Laura said: ‘I would definitely say it was love at first sight. Love at first sound for me because I heard [David] first and loved him.’
The couple, who have been together for over a year, say they are blissfully happy, even in the face of judgement from family and strangers.
David said: ‘I did not feel uneasy about how young Laura was when I found out how old she was. We were in too deep to care about our ages.’
Laura fell for David after hearing his band’s record (Picture: Barcroft Media)
Laura and David’s love story began when Laura picked up his band’s anarcho-punk single at a record fair.
After listening to the song, Laura felt she had to track David down on Facebook and tell him how much she admired his talent.
‘Initially, my aim was to compliment this guy – I didn’t think anything of a relationship,’ Laura explains.
But thankfully for Laura, the appreciation seemed to be mutual, and the pair started getting to know one another online
The couple say they are still trying to win over Laura’s mum (Picture: Barcroft Media)
‘We were constantly talking all the time, David never told me how old he was, and I never told him how old I was,’ Laura added.
David said: ‘She only had one photo; you couldn’t tell facially how old she was.
‘It didn’t cross my mind what age she was.’
Things moved quickly and Laura moved in with David in January 2019 after having a long-distance relationship.
Laura, who’s originally from Cornwall, made the decision to move 140 miles away from friends and family to be with David in Wiltshire.
‘This is the thing about this world, they don’t like anything different’ (Picture: Barcroft Media)
But the toughest obstacle the pair have had to face was gaining Laura’s mum’s approval.
‘I decided to tell my family quite soon, I was quite nervous,’ says Laura.
‘My mum goes through phases when she’s okay with our relationship and then other’s where she’s not.’
Laura believes her mum just needs some more time, but will come around eventually. So the couple are trying to be patient.
The couple say they don’t want children (Picture: Barcroft Media)
‘It does dip in and out and sometimes I don’t know where I stand with them,’ says David. ‘I’m trying to reassure them that they shouldn’t have any reservations.’
And Laura’s family isn’t the only source of criticism for the pair, they have also faced intense judgement online, with Laura being labelled a ‘gold digger’ and David being called a ‘cradle snatcher’, and many other harsh comments.
‘This is the thing about this world, they don’t like anything different,’ says Laura.
‘I genuinely love him, it’s a real relationship and we’re a real couple.’
The pair are excitedly looking forward to their future together and have decided that having children isn’t on the cards for them.
‘I’m going to sound a little bit selfish but because of the age gap, I want to spend as much time as I can with David and have the intimacy of just us two,’ says Laura.
Instead, the couple have settled on raising fur babies, and the plan is to get some cats to complete their little family.
Do you have a story to share? We want to hear from you.
My fiancé Edoardo and I are planning our wedding for September 2020 (Picture: Anastasia Miari)
He said ‘yes’ in October. On a yacht in the Ionian, I’d blurted out ‘Let’s get married!’ after just five months together.
Over the following weeks, in a dizzy, romantic and manically high emotional state, we’d booked our church in Corfu, met the priest, secured a venue and visited Aphrodite Corfu Villas in Agia Pelagia – our dream accommodation. Big Fat Greek Wedding: sorted.
I was openly smug about my organisational skills, and completely relaxed that everything was in place for the big day: 12 September 2020. Being half-Greek, I’d been planning my wedding all my life, so putting it in motion felt effortless.
What is it they say about the best laid plans?
By January, we’d scrapped the wedding. I was pregnant and my due date happened to be on the same day. It felt so serendipitous it made me laugh out loud when I thought about it. That was also around the time that Covid-19 came onto our agenda – but it was still far enough away in China (or so we thought) for us to not pay too much attention.
Once coronavirus had caught up with Europe in February, I’d reached the ‘safe’ 12-week mark. Then I miscarried in Greece, having visited to break the news to family there (as a travel writer I split my time between Athens and London).
I was distraught. A numb hopelessness came over me as lockdown commenced in Athens, away from my tight circle in London. My fiancé Edoardo’s entire family in Milan were in lockdown, and people he knew were on ventilators, dying.
So, in fear of completely losing it, I threw myself into planning our wedding again.
I would be depressed, but after all that’s happened, all I can do is pour my hope into this wedding (Picture: Anastasia Miari)
I was doing all I could to keep my mind occupied – desperate for a distraction, I demanded Edo stay up late in the night organising bits of paper with names of our 150 guests into a seating plan.
Although I knew he thought I was rushing into making wedding plans while the world went into lockdown, he was patient and calm with me, and understood that I needed just one good thing to look forward to in order to cope.
I’ve yet to experience any panic that it might not go ahead. Perhaps naively, I’m hoping that by September, we might have got to grips with the virus and our ‘new normal’.
So we’re ploughing ahead with the plans, in spite of it not being quite as we’d imagined. Invites, for instance were hurriedly sent out to a BCC-ed list via email, instead of being printed. Classy.
Hovering over the ‘send’ button three months before our big day, I felt ridiculous, stubbornly going ahead with an overseas wedding while friends and family were nervously disinfecting tins from the supermarket.
Once the email was sent I was inundated with a flurry of worried messages from guests. They expressed concerns about flight availability (they’re either extremely expensive or non-existent), economic instability, and an undoable 14-day quarantine on return to the UK. One also has a genuine (and very reasonable) phobia of becoming ill.
It is proving tricky for guests to get accommodation on the Greek island where we are hosting our wedding (Picture: Anastasia Miari)
I would be depressed, but after all that’s happened, all I can do is pour my hope into this wedding.
With every RSVP and trip confirmation email I’m forwarded, I get increasingly excited. I might actually be able to pull this one off. As the days go on, friends book onto flights that they are aware may never actually leave the ground.
Even if they do get to Greece, accommodation is proving tricky. Apparently, other people, who are as optimistic (or deluded) as I am, held onto their holiday bookings for September, meaning good accommodation near the venue is few and far between for the week of the wedding.
Taking care of the finer details is also impossible. The taverna playing host to our pandemic nuptials is not yet open, so we haven’t been able to go for a tasting. Receiving anything like my shoes, fairy lights and even the cake topper – all online purchases – is proving near-impossible, and our photographer, taking care of a sheltering mother, is not able to travel.
We had lavish plans for flying a pastry chef in from Milan, which are now laughable.
All these things would usually frustrate us both so much, but after all that life has dealt us this year, we realise that there are some things you just can’t plan for. Even weddings.
Ultimately, we’ve decided to continue on with our plans because despite all the setbacks, we want to have at least one positive thing to look forward to (and enjoy) on the day our first child would have been born.
Our lives, careers and social lives have already been put on hold for long enough because of this virus.
We want to finally move on and throw one hell of a party. Opa!
Deep in the throes of Zoom fatigue? It might be time to add some excitement to your video calls and virtual work meetings.
You could just change up your virtual background… or you could organise for an alpaca to join your chat – a far more joyous option, in our opinion.
Don’t stress, you don’t need to hunt down your own alpaca to tackle the boredom of endless Zoom calls.
Bob Crosbie of Bobcat Alpacas, in Edinburgh, is offering businesses the chance to book in 20-minute virtual ‘meet and greet’ sessions with his herd of alpacas, in return for a suggested donation of £100 to end-of-life charity Marie Curie.
Here’s how it works. If you want an alpaca to Zoombomb an important work call, you can email fiona.bushby@mariecurie.org.uk to book it in, as long as you also commit to a donation to the charity.
Oh, hi! (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Then in an arranged Zoom call, you’ll get a virtual visit from some adorable alpacas.
You could tell your coworkers to expect this or keep it a surprise. We’d recommend the latter option.
Bob said: ‘We’ve supported Marie Curie for many years, ever since we set up Bobcat Alpacas in 2015, just ten minutes down the road from the Marie Curie Hospice, Edinburgh.
‘We often visit the Hospice with the alpacas, who prove popular as you can imagine! I’ve met many of their incredible staff and hundreds of patients and families, all so grateful for the care and support Marie Curie provide, so when we heard they were facing a funding crisis, we wanted to find a way to help.
You can get a tour of the farm and a meet and greet with the alpacas (Picture: PA)
‘I’ll be giving tours of the farm, including a visit to our mischievous young alpacas who will no doubt provide some entertainment – they knocked me over on the trial run!
‘I’ll answer as many questions as I can, the two most common questions we get asked is “what’s the difference between an alpaca and a llama?” and “what do you call a baby alpaca?”.’
Fiona Bushby, Marie Curie Community Fundraiser, said: ‘We can’t thank Bob enough for the support he has given us over the years, and now in our time of need, he is stepping up again.
‘I hope lots of businesses get behind this fun idea – what a great way to liven up your next team meeting!’
Once you’ve added those to your bedroom, desk, and kitchen, you can fill in the remaining gaps (meaning any space left in your flat) with these eight plants that hold benefits for your physical and mental wellbeing.
Aloe vera
Aloe vera – easy to care for an loads of health benefits (Picture: Getty Images)
The watery flesh of aloe vera contains antibacterial and antiinflammatory properties, meaning it can help to soothe burns, treat skin inflammation, speed up recovery of mouth ulcers, and reduce constipation.
It’s also a super low maintenance plant. Love The Garden recommends placing your aloe vera plant in indirect sunlight and allowing the soil to dry out in the top 2cm before giving it a deep watering.
If your plant is turning brown, it’s a sign that there are too many nasty chemicals in the air (often due to doing loads of cleaning) or of too much sunlight.
Marigold
Look at those pretty flowers (Picture: Getty Images/EyeEm)
Marigold’s pretty orange flowers happen to have strong antibacterial and antiseptic properties – they’re also a natural insect repellant.
To speed up the healing of wounds and soothe rashes, dry out the flowers and mix into a cream, then apply topically. You can also use the flowers to make a herbal tea.
Plant a marigold anywhere with plenty of sun and water once a week.
Peace lily
Very zen (Picture: Getty Images/EyeEm)
Another easy-to-care-for plant that works hard to remove harmful toxins, such as ammonia and formaldeyhyde, from the air.
Having a peace lily in the home can increase humidity, thus improving your breathing and freshening the air.
Peace lilies like to be kept in the shade with slightly moist soil.
Dandelion
Rethink those weeds (Picture: Getty Images/EyeEm)
Dandelion contains beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps to protect cells from damage.
Consuming dandelion is linked to lower cholesterol, better digestion, and improved immune function. Brew the roots as a tea, use the leaves in a salad, or make a vegan honey alternative with the flowers.
As a weed, dandelions are pretty hard to kill, so make an easy houseplant for beginners.
Snake plant
Snake plants are said to boost sleep (Picture: Getty Images)
Stick a snake plant in your bedroom – its removal of benzene and thrichoroethylene and general air purification benefits are said to improve your sleep.
Place in indirect sunlight and allow the soil to slightly dry out before watering.
Rosemary
Start your herb garden off with rosemary (Picture: Getty Images/EyeEm)
We know rosemary makes dinners tasty (just pile it on some chips with salt. Delicious), but it has other benefits, too.
The herb is a rich source of antioxidants and is thus thought to improve circulation, enhance memory, and even boost concentration.
You’ll need to actually consume rosemary for all of these benefits, though, rather than just having it around the house, so keep the plant in your kitchen and snip off sprigs for your roast dinner, to infuse in oils, or to make a simple rosemary lemonade.
Rosemary likes a lot of light and minimal watering.
St John’s Wort
A natural anxiety soother (Picture: Getty Images/500px)
St John’s Wort is said to relieve anxiety and symptoms of depression thanks to a chemical that acts on messengers in the nervous system.
You can brew the flowers for tea or apply topically as an ointment, but note that St John’s Wort can interact with other medications, so chat to a doctor before using it.
The best place to plant St John’s Wort is somewhere that gets sun in the morning and shade when the afternoon is hot. This plant is very adaptable and can withstand both moist and dry soil.
English ivy
Pop in the bedroom (Picture: Getty Images/EyeEm)
A lovely creeping plant that looks great climbing up a wall or trailing down from a high shelf, English ivy is another plant that has lots of air-purifying properties, purifying mould particles that can trigger allergies.
If you have asthma or difficulty breathing at night, place the English Ivy high up in your bedroom. Don’t get too cosy with the leaves, though, as touching them can cause a skin reaction.
English Ivy grows well under fluorescent light but not the sun directly, so it’s ideal for placement in darker rooms with artificial light. You should keep the soil moist but never soggy.
Luna loved getting dressed up for her photo shoots (Picture: North News & Pictures Ltd)
Three-year-old Luna Trenerry has had an extremely eventful lockdown.
Not only has she been taking part in grown-up activities for the last 21 days, she’s also raised over £11,000 for charity with photoshoots of her exploits.
These photoshoots included Luna – who has Down Syndrome – having driving lessons, having a party, facing a fake hangover, and working from home, and people loved her sweet poses and outfits.
The tot, who is deaf in one ear, raised funds throughout May to support Together 21, a family-centred project based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, that supports children and young people with Down syndrome to acquire essential skills and progress through life.
It should be obvious, but we should stress she wasn’t actually drinking here (Picture: North News & Pictures Ltd)
Each day Luna’s mum Beth would get Luna all dressed up and have fun with her posing for a lockdown diary we can all relate to.
Beth, 34, a florist from Consett, County Durham said: ‘Luna is such a sassy little diva, never did I ever imagine when I found out she had Down Syndrome that life would be like this, in the best way.
And this wasn’t a real hangover – although it looks remarkably like ours (Picture: North News & Pictures Ltd)
‘Everyone loves her, her grandparents are not afraid to say she is a favourite grandchild.’
Beth is currently 32 weeks pregnant, so this was a fun way the family could play together without being too physically straining on her – not to mention it’s for a great cause that’s close to the family’s heart.
We can very much relate to this one (Picture: North News & Pictures Ltd)
‘The pictures will be absolutely great to look back on, my husband was roped into a lot of it as well. Toddlers are not the easiest to work with.
‘I don’t think Luna was aware of what I was doing. I always try and do fun things with her and dress her up and play so I think she just thought it was another day.
This one, not as much (Picture: North News & Pictures Ltd)
‘Together 21 is a support and educational group. Children with Down’s Syndrome have the potential to learn anything, it is early intervention.
‘I have been going with her since she was a newborn.
The final day saw Luna giving her mum’s pregnant tummy a check-up as a nurse (Picture: North News & Pictures Ltd)
‘Typically with children you don’t need to teach them how to do things but children with Down syndrome, you have to teach them everything.
‘If no-one shows you these things you get knocked back a bit, this support isn’t available on the NHS.’
Luna has the need for speed (Picture: North News & Pictures Ltd)
The charity has now raised over £11,000 of a £20,000 target, and other families have been taking part in the Together 21 challenge too, tweaking it to fit their own needs and hobbies.
While it was all fun and games with Luna pretending to be an adult sunbathing and eating takeaways (something we’ve done way too much of this lockdown), it finished on a heartfelt note.
Those faces are all ones we’ve made while working from home (Picture: North News & Pictures Ltd)
Luna dressed as a nurse to show appreciation from the NHS staff members that have been a big part of her life since she was little.
The challenge garnered hundreds of messages of support, with one person saying ‘We will miss our daily dose of Luna, thank you for making us smile each day during lockdown.’
Given these hard times we’ve had, seeing a little one enjoying themselves is bound to make us all feel a little lighter.
And for those families who might be looking for someone to talk to about life a child with additional support needs, Beth says that finding a community of parents in the same situation is key:;
She says: ‘I would say to anyone to just get in touch, speaking to people and mums in these early days, in your position, it is incredible. We are here to support you.’
First of all, and most importantly: will the sex be good? (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
We’ve all had to make a lot of difficult decisions over the past few months.
And yet this didn’t prepare me for the choice I was having to make last night as a single person: should I see my mum or should I have sex.
According to new government guidance announced by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, we can now form support bubbles with one other household, but not more. With these new rules came one of the strangest moral dilemmas of the past few months.
I’d like to clarify here that this is probably the first and hopefully the last time I have ever discussed my mother and sex in the same context, aside from in references to my conception, which I’m relieved to share with you all was immaculate.
For many of us who have been isolating alone for the past 90 days, the news that we can now indulge in someone else’s touch will be welcomed with open arms. Physical intimacy is a fundamental human need. Loneliness kills.
It’s clear that blocking human connection indefinitely could never work; that the government is now acknowledging this is an expressly good thing.
But, as a single person who has spoken openly about the impact that social isolation and a lack of sex has had on them, I can safely say that this is one of those “solutions” that carries with it a whole other series of questions, like a line of dominoes gently nudging one another as they fall.
There will be people for whom the answer whether to see loved ones or to make love is a no brainer. Those in relationships isolating away from partners, or those who privilege emotional intimacy over physical touch likely knew instantaneously what they would do with their new freedom. And to those people, I say: you do you.
But, if you’re like me, you might be wondering who to put in your ‘social bubble’. I know that many of you felt conflicted too because I tweeted my conundrum and quickly learned that despite my physical solitude, on an emotional level I was not alone.
Fortunately, my mum is a selfless soul and quickly gave me her blessing to prioritise my physical needs. For that, I am really and truly thankful. Maybe I’ll even dedicate my first orgasm to her (too far?).
But for those of you who are still undecided, I want to help in your decision-making process by asking some very important questions.
Even though it’s technically allowed, should we still do it? (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
First of all, and most importantly: will the sex be good?
The stakes are too high here to get this one wrong and so I urge you all to think long and hard about this aspect of your decision.
You’ll also need to consider whether there is potential for your dalliance to last beyond one or two orgasms.
I think we can all agree that it’s important to think long-term here, given how little we know about when or how the rules are likely to change again. The last thing any of us wants is to have a disappointing shag bookended by endless months of solitude.
In practical terms you need to think about how likely they are to follow the rules of limiting their own social contact.
This question is especially tricky because it requires mutual trust. Call me cynical but, if the responses to an anonymous poll I recently ran on Twitter about whether or not people had broken lockdown restrictions for a shag are anything to go by, placing the responsibility for containing the viral spread in the hands of the horny might be our government’s biggest mistake to date.
If you are uncertain, take this as an opportunity to bring up the difficult and awkward questions so often eschewed in a romantic context, particularly around exclusivity. I urge you to seize this moment and make sure that you and your sexual partner are on the same page.
There’s also the question that weighs heavy on the soul: Even though it’s technically allowed, should we still do it?
This is where we move into murky moral territory. In a week when chief lockdown shagger and erstwhile globally revered epidemiologist, Professor Neil Ferguson, revealed that the government’s sluggish response to the threat of the virus could have cost up to 25,000 lives — should we really be trusting them on this?
The fact still remains that coronavirus is spread through human-to-human contact. There really are no guarantees of safety, especially without an effective track and trace system in place.
The only solution to this is to be as responsible as possible within the specified guidance.
You have to ask yourself whether you’re willing to be as safe and responsible as possible to minimise the risk of spreading the disease.
Aside from washing hands and singing Happy Birthday, this one requires some real commitment to being responsible. Paying attention to our own symptoms, isolating if you notice any, and taking all necessary precautions to practise safe sex (and I’m not just talking about condoms). This means asking difficult questions, putting everyone else’s health above your horniness and abstaining when the circumstances dictate.
It might not sound sexy, but planning ahead, thinking through how to make the experience as safe as possible is the best way to take care of yourself and others during this strange time.
It is also the best way to ensure that the NHS doesn’t suddenly become overburdened with a new surge in the virus, and/or medical issues relating to unsafe sex.
And finally, I have my own answer to this one already – but it’s probably worth asking whether or not your mum will ever forgive you.
I’ll leave that one down to you and your conscience.
Still hunting for the perfect card? Look no further (Pictures: Jamii/Metro.co.uk)
Father’s Day is just around the corner (21 June – get it in your diary) – but luckily for you, there’s still time to find the perfect card and post it off.
Lots of us have been separated from our parents for longer than ever before, so Father’s Day is a great way to show you’re thinking of your old dad.
The problem is though, that the cards available for Father’s Day aren’t always very diverse or representative?
A quick scan through the high street greetings card shop websites will depict reams of middle-aged white men, who love golf, beer and football – and little else. But what if your dad doesn’t fit this picture?
We had a scan to find some beautiful, diverse cards – from Black-owned producers – that represent Black dads in all their glory. So you can make your dad feel truly special, even if you can’t be there in person.
The perfect card if your dad is your own, personal superhero.
We love the fun, cartoonish element of this design – and you’re dad probably will too. There’s an option to choose a dad with or without a beard as well.
Time to try something new? (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
It’s a common issue, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating: you can easily reach orgasm when you’re masturbating, but it’s near-impossible to get off when you’re having sex with someone else rather than going solo.
Why does this happen? And what can we do to sort it out?
First off, it’s important to say that if you’re someone who struggles to climax during sex with another person, there’s nothing wrong with you. As we said, it’s an extremely common experience.
It’s also important not to generalise struggling to orgasm with a partner as anorgasmia, which is the inability to have orgasms at all.
What’s happening in this scenario is not a problem, just the body and mind responding to a different method of pleasure. If you’re happy only having orgasms through masturbation, that’s perfectly alright – but if you are troubled by not getting off during sex with a partner, there are explanations for why this might be the case.
The first is that a partner simply doesn’t know your body the way you do, and doesn’t know the exact things that give you loads of pleasure.
Everyone is different, and what works wonders for you will do zilch for someone else. If you’re spending sex wishing your partner could read your mind and just do that one specific motion or movement, there’s an easy solution: tell them what you want.
‘What’s normal is for you to know yourself better than he or she does,’ explains Dr Mafe Goody, a sexpert from the School of Sexual Wellness, Intimology Institute.
‘Women who explore themselves or masturbate and know their bodies better tend to have more satisfying sex. If the problem is that your partner does not know how to stimulate you, tell him (tactfully, you know).
(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
‘Teach him/her how to make you feel pleasure, and remind him/her that times are different for each one, especially if your partner is a man. There’s nothing wrong with that and it’s another way of getting to know each other, isn’t it?’
If you’re someone with a vagina, make sure that sex with a partner isn’t all about penetration – only a tiny percentage of women can reach orgasm with penetration alone, and you’re far more likely to enjoy sex with clitoral stimulation.
Be willing to experiment, try out what works and what doesn’t, and maintain open communication. It might help to literally show your partner what you do to yourself that works so brilliantly, so they can watch, learn, and repeat.
So, technique and actual physical action. That’s one reason why reaching orgasm with a partner can be tricky. But there are other potential causes, too.
There’s the mental side of things, in terms of desire, fantasy, and relaxation. It’s incredibly difficult (likely impossible, actually) to have an orgasm when you’re stressed out and not in the moment.
Masturbation tends to happen either when we’ve scheduled in some relaxing alone time when we can completely let loose, or as a reaction to feeling turned on. In both cases, you’re entering into solo sex in a mindset that smoothly puts you on the path to an orgasm.
Sex with a partner, meanwhile, can occur in a different setup. Maybe you just fancy being intimate with your partner and so decide to have sex, and thus need to actively get in the mental mood. Maybe you and your partner started kissing and getting cuddly, got turned on, and while your body is ready to go, your mind is still caught on whatever you were doing before things started getting sexual.
It’s easier to lose yourself in a fantasy when masturbating (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
You might feel tense or distracted for all sorts of reasons. Maybe you’re self-conscious about your body, you know you have a massive to-do list building, or you’re not completely secure in the relationship.
Then there’s that horrible cycle of knowing you struggled to orgasm last time you had sex, worrying that you won’t this time around, and then having so much pressure built up that there’s no way it can happen.
Dr Mafe explains that all of this can make achieving orgasm especially difficult for women, for whom pleasure relies on a ‘circle of sexual response’ – meaning there are so many mental states we have to go through for an orgasm to be on the table.
‘All sexual relationships go through phases,’ she explains. ‘It has long been described that the sexual response of most women is circular and includes elements such as intimacy, physical and emotional satisfaction, as triggers of excitement and even desire; elements that feed the desire are included, which would also be triggers.
‘Desire feeds the excitement in women and vice versa, and these phases must have been completed to reach an orgasm. Orgasm is the climax and end of this response, although it does not have to be just one. That is how you can go back to desire/excitement or reach an orgasm.
‘If we do not go through the different phases it is more complicated to reach an orgasm. It’s like building a house beginning with the roof, although sometimes it can turn out to be pretty.’
Tackling all this is a little trickier than just guiding your partner on their fingering technique.
Problems with relaxing, letting go, and getting in the right headspace for achieving orgasm can be resolved through talking, building trust, and self-help techniques, but if they’re becoming overwhelming it’s best to talk to a professional – either a general therapist or someone specialising in sex and relationships.
It’s worth talking to your partner about how you’re feeling and working out what you can do to help prep your mind for pleasurable sex. That might involve scheduling sex so you can build yourself up long in advance (and you don’t have to worry about all the other things you should be doing), offering reassurance, or adding in more time spent on foreplay.
Think about the fantasy element of things, too. When you’re masturbating, you’re often free to immerse yourself into a fantasy, whether through your imagination or by watching porn. During sex with another person, the pressure is on to remain in reality, grounded in what’s actually happening – which can leave you feeling mentally unstimulated.
But you can incorporate fantasy during sex with a partner by using roleplay or just letting yourself build a backstory that works to get you off. It’s allowed.
Giving yourself permission to relax and enjoy is the crucial thing. That’s easier said than done, we know, but it’s worth remembering. Sex – whether with a partner or on your own – is meant to be fun, not a horrible slog that provokes endless anxiety over whether or not you’ll get off.
Dr Mafe puts it simply: ‘You must spice up intercourse.’ That means making things fun, trying new stuff, and chatting openly about what you like.
Focus on pleasure and try not to hold up an orgasm as a must-do goal. If you enjoy yourself throughout, it’s okay to not reach climax. Enjoy the ride rather than stressing out too much about the destination.
Bobby was first diagnosed after a bicycle accident (Picture: Bobby Bansal)
Bobby Bansal was cycling to work when both his tyres suddenly burst.
He fell, leaving him feeling battered and bruised, but picked himself up and went onto the office.
But a few days later, he was feeling better but he noticed his testicles were still swollen from the accident – so he decided to get them checked out.
The 38-year-old commercial manager, from Reading, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘I knew so little about my own anatomy, I thought I. had ‘cracked’ a testicle and something had leaked out – hence the swelling.
‘The nurse told me it was pretty common with cyclists to have swelling and gave me an anti inflammatory but stressed that if it hadn’t gone down in a few days, I must come back.’
As a young man in his 30s, he thought it wouldn’t be anything serious.
One testicle improved but the other didn’t – so he went back a few days later to see his GP, who was worried and referred him for a scan.
He used private medical cover through his work to get a scan a week later, which revealed a five-and-a-half cm tumour, which meant the testicle had to be removed and he had to have a course of chemotherapy.
The process left him suffering from other health problems and he says it really impacted his mental health.
Five years on from his initial diagnosis, Bobby was delighted he got the all-clear and was discharged by his team last year.
But, just a few months later, on holiday last November, he felt a lump in his remaining testicle.
Doctors discovered another tumour in that testicle and he had to have surgery to remove that one too.
Six months later, he is now doing well and is working with charity Movember to help raise awareness of men’s health issues.
He’s now working with Movember (Picture: Bobby Bansal)
He admits he had a limited understanding of men’s health issues but had done the Movember challenge to grow his facial hair the year before his diagnosis.
He says: ‘At the time, I had just joined my company and Id din’t really know anything about the charity or what they were about but it was just a way to have a bit of competition for who could raise the most money and have some fun. It was just boys being silly.’
So it was a huge shock when the accident revealed the testicular cancer the following March.
Bobby adds: ‘When I had the scan, it showed a big tumour. It had probably been growing for quite some time but I hadn’t checked and hadn’t noticed.
‘The accident meant that my testicles were sore and they were both swollen. The swelling went down and they were normal size for me – but one of them was normally much bigger because of the tumour growing there.
‘If it hadn’t been for the accident, I probably wouldn’t have got my testicles checked out.’
After the diagnosis, things moved quickly – a week later he had surgery, followed soon after by a round of chemotherapy.
He explains: ‘I was asked about banking sperm as I didn’t have children and was quite young and had so much to consider but I just wanted the tumour out of me.
‘I had a lot of worries about a lot of things but I did nothing about them and ended up just having the surgery very quickly.’
The treatment was successful at removing the cancer but the impact left Bobby struggling for years afterwards.
Bobby in hospital (Picture: Bobby Bansal)
He says: ‘There were so many knock on effects that I didn’t realise until years later.
‘Chemotherapy affected by thyroid, it affected my stomach lining and I am deficient in B12 because I struggle to absorb that now. About a year after treatment, I realised that was affecting my memory and I was very tired all the time.
‘I didn’t tell anyone about that for a long time. I made jokes out of it. The b12 deficiency was actually found by my dentist.
‘Around year three, I plucked up the courage to say I needed some more help. It was then that they found that the testicle that was removed was my primary producer so I also had a testosterone deficiency.’
Throughout that time, he also struggled with the idea of something coming back.
‘I was just terrified,’ he says. ‘It caused me so much anxiety and I just didn’t address it. It was making a mess of me but I just made jokes about it all.
‘People would ask how I was and I would say “I’m alive and I can’t really ask for more. It’s all good. I can’t complain” but realistically it was massively impacting my mental health, and as a result, everything else.
‘Eventually I knew I had to address these problems and got help. I felt a lot calmer and a lot less scared of the outcome.’
After five years, Bobby was discharged by his team and he was delighted to have reached that milestone.
He laughs: ‘I told my oncologist that I would miss them but I hoped not to see them again, except in passing.’
After his second operation six months ago, he is now doing well (Picture: Bobby Bansal)
But just a few months later, on 5 November 2019, he was on holiday with his fiancé when he noticed another lump.
He says: ‘I was working a lot with Movember then as the event was happening and i was raising awareness of my experience.
‘I thought I should probably do what I was talking about and check myself.
‘I found the lump and thought it was odd so I messaged my nurse while I was on holiday and booked an appointment for when I got back.’
Because of his history, his doctor advised getting it checked out as soon as possible.
He saw a specialist the following week who said that he had another tumour. It was much smaller than the first one but was a type that was more likely to spread.
‘Apparently, the odds of getting it twice and getting two different types are rare, but I was lucky because I didn’t wait and knew I needed to get this sorted out,’ Bobby says.
Testicular cancer
It’s the most common cancer in young men in the UK
In most cases, the outcome for men with testicular cancer is positive, but a 95% chance of survival is no comfort to the 1 man in 20 who won’t make it.
Get to know what’s normal, check your nuts in the shower once a month or so.
If you notice a change in size or shape, a lump that wasn’t there before, or if they become painful to touch, see a doctor.
Don’t panic, but do get it checked out.
‘I think part of that comes down to having conversations about it through Movember and my work with them.’
As the tumour was smaller, this time he just needed surgery to remove the remaining testicle.
Recalling the experience on 26 November last year, he laughs: ‘They mark what they are removing with a Sharpie when you have any king of surgery and they drew a big arrow on me.
‘I was saying: “Really, there’s only one left!”
‘The medical teams were absolutely fantastic though both times and I can’t thank them enough.’
Since then, he has had regular check ups to ensure everything is ok.
He says: ‘I am still having regular blood tests and there is always trepidation because I’m just scared but generally, I’m in a much better place. Instead of bottling things up, I talk about it now and that makes such a big difference.’
For more information on how to check yourself and facts on testicular cancer, head to the Movemberwebsite.
The idea of a crowd of people feels foreign now (Picture: Getty/PA)
Not only has coronavirus changed our way of life in the present, but the psychological impact the pandemic has had could change the very fabric of our society forever.
Covid-19 and the nationwide lockdowns in response to it have already had an undeniably strong effect on nearly every aspect of our daily life and, as such, our mental wellbeing.
We previously spoke to Dr. Sandro Galea from Boston University, who warned Metro.co.uk that the pandemic and resulting lockdown measures ‘will undoubtedly have consequences for mental health and wellbeing in both the short and long term.’
Dr. Sandro added: ‘The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, and efforts to contain it, represent a unique threat, and we must recognise the pandemic that will quickly follow it – that of mental and behavioural illness – and implement the steps needed to mitigate it.’
We spoke to a range of mental health professionals who agree: the pandemic has and will have consequences for us and our mental health far and away beyond the length of the pandemic itself.
Counselling Directory member Amy Drake goes so far as to tell us thatthe psychological and behavioural effects of Covid-19 may be severe enough to result in a ‘new constructed society’.
‘Being in lockdown has forced our collective change in behaviour, but it also has the potential to impact our attitudes towards society more long term,’ she says.
‘Our basic knowledge of how society functioned almost three months ago has changed now, as we collectively live out our new norm.
‘In reality, we could see the social distancing measures in place for some months, and this is sure to have an impact on how we then behave as a society even once the measures are lifted.’
She adds: ‘It’s interesting to consider that this pandemic is not just a moment in history, but it has the potential to change our way of being forever.
‘For example, never again will we not know how to deal with a lockdown, we might always see a change in the way we shop, businesses that have adapted to the new circumstances might have found a more effective way of working, and we may never take for granted a quick visit to a loved one, or the ability to go on holiday when we want to.
‘We may potentially always have a collective new attitude to things based on the collective trauma that we are dealing with now.’
Once collective trauma is brought up, mental health experts stop talking in terms of months, and start talking about years, decades and even generations.
Could collective trauma be a factor? (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Peter Felix Kellermann wrote in his 2007 book Sociodrama and Collective Trauma: ‘Decades and centuries after a disaster, the presence of trauma is felt not only by individual survivors and their families but also by the people on the periphery who, although not directly hit, were nevertheless affected.
‘For some, these effects may be almost inaudible, constituting only a disturbing background noise. For others, they are heard loud and clear and become a constant companion of irritating stress and anxiety; many of these people fear new tragedy for the rest of their lives.’
Amy defines collective traumaas something that ‘exists when a group of people, in this case our entire society, experience a psychological impact triggered by a shared traumatic event. In this case, the pandemic.’
She says: ‘Different age generations, from the elderly to those young enough to understand what is going on can tell this story to the generations after them for years to come. Each time, the story changes slightly based on what that individual experienced.
‘Babies born during the pandemic will one day be told of what life was like when they were welcomed into the world, and they too will feel part of this time without having experienced it.
‘Their social norms again might be different based on their parents’ change in behaviour now in response to the pandemic, and thus, we potentially have a new constructed society, with different beliefs, values, structures and attitudes, all because we collectively needed to abide by a set of rules that gave us no choice but to adapt to a new way of living.’
Amy’s fellow Counselling Directory member Esther Emanuel says that, while it may be too soon to tell if collective trauma is a factor here, coronavirus is still a ‘collective experience.’
She tells us: ‘As a collective trauma is said to bring about a shift in culture, this can only be viewed in hindsight, so in my opinion, it is too early to say if there is a collective trauma at play.
‘But yes, I can say that the world is going through this pandemic at the same time and as a result, yes, it is a collective experience of some sort.
‘But the degree to which it affects each country and how the effects are dealt with or managed will eventually determine how many people will be left traumatised because of it and the degree to which they are traumatised to bring about a mass movement for change. So, the jury is still out on this, in my opinion.’
Even through the isolation of lockdown, we’ve been going through the pandemic together (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
The specifics of collective trauma aside, Amy adds that our individual experiences of the pandemic are also important.
She says: ‘We are all experiencing the same crisis, but we are having vastly different lived experiences of it at the same time.
‘Something key to consider here is how trauma impacts individuals. It changes our behaviour, thoughts, beliefs and even impacts our memories, and this is essentially taking place collectively now.’
Chartered psychologist Dr. Hamira Riaz tells Metro.co.uk: ‘I amnot sure anyone will be left psychologically unaffectedby this crisis.
‘The challenges of living through extended lockdown is a contributory factor to mental health issues, but in my view, it’s the cumulative effect of disruption over time that will do the more damage.
‘Human beings are wired to handle acute threats to survival really well, those that come and go fast.
‘We are much less able to deal with chronic threats to our psychological safety, where month after month, we are facing an unfolding set of problems without knowing if and when it’s going to end.’
Dr Daria J. Kuss, associate professor in Psychology and associate course leader MSc Cyberpsychology agrees that the impact of the pandemic on our minds will be profound, and highlights NHS workers, parents, those in care homes and those living alone as particularly vulnerable.
She says: ‘The mental healthimpact of the extended lockdown period cannot be underestimated,’ adding, ‘NHS staff and care workers are faced with daily exposure to the virus, which may increase their worry for their health and that of their families, to whom they return after work.
‘Populations in care homes are especially vulnerable as their mental health may suffer due to increased infection risk and social isolation with families not allowed to visit them.
‘Parents try to juggle their professional commitments via home working with looking after their kids and home schooling them at the same time and this increases stress levels.
‘Individuals who live by themselves are especially affected by the lack of physical social contact and may feel lonely and isolated.’
She adds: ‘The longer the lockdown goes on for, the more severe the resultant negative mental health consequences may be.
‘Experiences of worry, anxiety, stress, as well as depressive symptoms as a result of extended periods of staying at home are on the increase.
‘People are worried about their health, their family’s wellbeing – many have lost their jobs or are have been furloughed. In addition, the lack of control over the situation may increase the stress that is experienced as there is little that individuals can do to change it.’
Key workers could be particularly vulnerable (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Amy thinkswe are already dealing with a country-wide mental health crisis on top of the pandemic itself.
‘It might not feel like it at the moment, but one day in the future, the virus will no longer be a threat, however the mental health crisis that it inflated will long outlive it,’ she says.
‘As a country we were already dealing with a mental health crisis and attempting to respond to it, and now, there is even more work to be done. Lockdown and the pandemic has already caused depression diagnosis to rise, more people are experiencing anxiety than ever before and over half a million people have accessed online training in suicide prevention.
‘It’s inevitable that the pandemic is going to have a detrimental effect on the mental health of not only the NHS front line workers, but the nation as a whole.’
Amy also says that we must not forget the people who were dealing with mental health conditions before the lockdown, adding: ‘Quite rightly, there has been a huge focus on protecting the NHS in order to effectively manage COVID-19, however we also now need to consider what support mental health services will get as there has been little to no mention of this as of yet.
‘As our nation becomes more anxious, stressed and depressed, even traumatised, it is imperative that we have an effective support system in place to manage this so that we are not perpetuating a new crisis, a mental health crisis.’
What can you do to fortify your mental health?
Dr Hamira says those who ‘approach life with rational optimism’ will be able to more easily withstand the mental impact of the pandemic.
She says: ‘The wide-ranging repercussions of this pandemic means that we are living with higher levels of ambiguity than we’re used to.
‘Greater acceptance, letting go and trusting in a future we cannot yet see, can help us cope with the discomfort of ‘not knowing’ over protracted periods.
‘People who approach life with this type of rational optimism are better equipped to deal with the ups and downs of the new normal after lockdown.
‘Those with a more black-and-white thinking style and higher needs for control will struggle more.’
When it comes to how to circumvent the negative mental health impact lockdown could have – outside of seeking professional help – Dr. Daria recommends that we make time for self-care.
She says: ‘In these unprecedented times, self-care should be prioritised. I recommend spending more time looking after yourself by allowing some rest. Have specific schedules with regular breaks that you stick to.
‘Make sure you engage in self-care, especially when you are feeling drained and fatigued.
‘Read a book, listen to uplifting music, take a bath, go for a walk.
‘Be social virtually – talk to your family and friends on a regular basis via video chat or a good old phone call. We are stronger together and social support can lift the spirits.’
Need support for your mental health?
You can contact mental health charity Mind on 0300 123 3393 or text them on 86463.
After months of strict lockdown measures, isolation and anxiety - we're beginning to look to the future.
What will life look like when we emerge into our new normal?
Can things ever be the same as they were? Do we even want them to be the same?
What Comes Next is our series of in-depth features unpicking the possibilities for the future.
Every day for two weeks, we will look at the future of work, dating, mental health, friendships, money, travel, and all the other elements that make up our existence.
Our lives have been turned upside down, but change doesn't always have to be a bad thing.
Hannah and the tadpoles (Picture: Hannah McSorley)
Hannah McSorley was at a bit of a loose end when her GCSE exams were cancelled this summer.
The 17-year-old, from Omagh, Northern Ireland, expected to still be studying but coronavirus means she has lots of free time.
So instead she’s turned her attention to raising thousands of tadpoles in lockdown.
Now on day 80, teenager Hannah tells Metro.co.uk: ‘I live in the country and we would rescue frog spawn when we were younger but I haven’t done it for years. Usually, they wouldn’t survive.
‘I found some near our house and decided it would be educational for my nine-year-old brother, Paul.’
At first, they kept the frog spawn in a jar but as it turned to tadpoles, she moved them first to a plastic box then to a paddling pool in the garden filled with water (which is treated to remove chlorine).
Although she doesn’t know exactly how many there are, she quoted the number 37,927 at the start and says that might be a bit of an exaggeration but thinks there are thousands.
Hannah holding some tadpoles (Picutre: Hannah McSorley)
She feeds them spinach and white fish (Picutre: Hannah McSorley)
She started to research online about what they could eat and how she could help them survive.
She explains: ‘There’s been some trial and error but the best thing is boiled spinach and white fish so I have been feeding them that every day.’
They’ve been visited by frogs too (Picutre: Hannah McSorley)
Hannah has become a TikTok star (Picutre: Hannah McSorley)
Hannah decided to use TikTok to show the journey of the tadpoles but never expected it to take off.
She now has 580,000 followers and over nine million likes.
She explains: ‘I had posted the odd baking video but it was never overly popular.
Hannah has been getting advice online from the British Wildlife Association and from speaking directly to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
She expects the tadpoles to turn to frogs in another few weeks and has planned the best way to release them.
The tadpoles in the pool (Picutre: Hannah McSorley)
She says: ‘I understand that people are worried about releasing them in one go and the impact on all those frogs in one place but after speaking to the environment agency, I know that the dry weather means that water sources have dried up and many tadpoles won’t have survived.
‘I’ll split the frogs into groups and release them in different places and I hope that will help to repopulate the area.’
You can follow Hannah’s journey with her tadpoles on TikTok @.baby.frogs.
