Hi there! 


For a long time, I’ve been having problems with getting on with my daily routine and doing important tasks if I’m stressed about something else, even if it’s something I know I have no control over. For example, right now, the country I’m living in has just announced another lockdown, which affects my work and my personal life (I work in the arts and am dating someone in a neighbouring country). This is my fifth lockdown and like most I’ve suffered mentally through all of them, and am genuinely worried about how I will fare now. All I can do right now is refresh the news looking for any update while a negative cycle of thoughts goes through my head, and wait for emails that probably won’t arrive for another few days, things like if my University classes are still happening, if my work commitments in other countries are still going ahead, etc… I also don’t particularly enjoy the city I live in and am planning to move, and the possibility of having to spend extra time here without being able to see my friends and SO also stresses me out. 


Meanwhile, I have emails to write, friends to respond to online, chores to do, things at work to complete and prepare for… and I just can’t bring myself to do any of it, even though I know there’s nothing I can do about this lockdown. Concentration is completely shot. I feel lost and useless.


This has been a constant challenge most of my life, for large and small stresses, and mostly the advice I get is “stop worrying about something you can’t fix”, which of course is helpful to a certain extent, but I really cannot help it at the moment. Has anyone here experienced familiar feelings or issues, and would anyone have any advice/tips on overcoming this kind of black hole of stress and being productive?


Cheers!