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I’m a solicitor in a mid-sized firm. I’m generally happy in my job and I’m the sort of person that tends to be ‘glass-half-full’, but at the moment I’m feeling weary. I hadn’t realised until this lockdown how much I missed being in the office, and how much having people around motivated me. The problem is, I don’t want to tell anyone at work how I really feel, and don’t want to burden my colleagues and friends. Plus, I’m worried about what others might think of me if I say that I’m struggling, and how it might affect my career.

This lockdown is tough on everyone, and you’re not alone in what you’ve described. Feelings of isolation and lower mood are showing up more frequently. These are understandable responses, and they can seem overwhelming at times, but there are some things we can do that might ease these feelings and change the mood.

Firstly, it is important to recognise what we can and cannot control. At the moment, we are all living with restrictions, most of which we are unable to change. If we spend our time thinking about what is beyond our influence, this may feel disempowering and can lead to frustration. However, focusing on those elements of our lives that we can shape gives us back a sense of purpose, and can provide a different perspective on our situation. I understand that you don’t want to tell anyone at work how you feel, but perhaps there is someone that you’re happy chatting with. You don’t need to go into detail about how you are, but sometimes that experience of connecting and simply talking (about anything) can make us feel less isolated. We are all missing social interactions and, while we can’t yet replicate what we used to do, we can be deliberate about how we interact in order to stay connected.

Some teams have a five or ten-minute ‘free discussion’ at the beginning or end of scheduled video meetings, so that people can do what they would naturally do in the office – chat and be social with each other. This is different to having a full ‘check-in’ session, where people might feel under pressure to be upbeat; it’s more a short time for the small talk that just isn’t happening at the moment. You don’t mention whether you have team meetings, but I wonder whether something like this could be implemented.

Another suggestion that might help is to pay attention to your mood and to note those times throughout the day when you have more energy or feel less weary. If you recognise what is going on around you at these times, you can then intentionally build more of this into your day to try to increase these ‘moments of vitality’, until we get back to doing all the things we are missing.

This question and answer is hypothetical and was written by Katie Da Gama (lawyer, executive coach and leadership development consultant in Dublin). Any response or advice provided is not intended to replace or substitute for any professional, psychological, financial, medical, legal, or other professional advice.