We are being exposed to friends and family members that have very different viewpoints from ours. The result of which can leave us feeling confused and threatened. I recently experienced a person who is non-vaccinated, non-mask wearing, who failed to inform a family member that they were Covid positive. The family member lives with my 95 year old father. The family member now has Covid.

Needless to say, my blood was boiling.

But I am hearing stories from other friends, family member and also clients.

How do we cope, when our best friend who we have known and trusted ‘forever’ suddenly appears to ‘be on the other side’? How do we cope when the family member who isn’t vaccinated and will not test, still wants to come to the family dinner? How do we cope when a person we know, refuses to wear a mask to the supermarket, not for legitimate reasons - apart from their belief that ‘Covid is just a sniffle’? How do we cope when you are friends with someone who isn’t vaccinated and uses a ‘fake vaccine passport’ to go to cafes and socialise?

Lockdown has brought to life some interesting emotions for a lot of us. We’re at home, some of us aren’t working, we have less distractions and for some of us we have increased feelings of anxiety or other challenging emotions.

Food - is - let’s face it - a wonderful distraction.

And this can cause us to feel frustrated with our best laid plans to ‘eat well’ over lock-down.

Mindful eating can be a way of encouraging awareness of what you are eating and what emotions or feelings may be driving your desire to eat!