WORKING FROM HOME HAS MADE ME LAZY AND DEPRESSED

QI’m a woman in my late 40s, divorced, with a grown-up daughter who lives with her boyfriend. I know that I am lucky to have a job but I’m finding it a struggle to feel motivated. Like others, I’ve been working from home for nearly a year but I’ve been getting up later and instead of showering and being ready for work I slob on the sofa in my dressing gown with my laptop. Often I don’t change until the afternoon and rarely leave the house. I’m just about keeping my job together because I work into the evenings, but hardly exercise and I have put on weight. Friends have suggested walks but I’ve said I’m too busy working. How can I get out of this rut? I feel depressed and useless.

AYou are not at all useless, but, yes, I think you are depressed – as well as lonely, anxious and bored. The pressure on us all has been relentless and it is especially hard for those who live alone. You need to be gentle with yourself, not heaping on blame and guilt, but be more strict in regards to routine. If you can, take a break from work for a week, but don’t stay in bed. Set an alarm for 8am and force yourself to get up and go for a walk first thing. Make yourself ring one friend every day to talk (and go for a walk with one of them). Spend your week at home seeking out fun and new challenges – dance wildly in the kitchen, listen to intellectually challenging podcasts or sing loudly while you clean one room in your house so thoroughly that it is a pleasure to be in. Read books. The idea is to break the pattern and set a healthier routine until things get easier.

CONTACT CAROLINE Write to Caroline West-Meads at: YOU Magazine, PO Box 5332, Dublin 2, or email c.west-meads@youmagazine.ie. Caroline reads all letters but

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