The new way to battle Lockdown Depression (and Fatigue)

Problem: Lockdown Depression. Cure: Install a gumtree in my home!

Alright, fine – it’s not a whole tree (not even a baby one). It’s a branch. Having endured the world’s longest lockdown, we’re all Officially Over It. We’re tired, Vitamin D deprived, desperate for hugs and to roll down grassy hills, or the luxury of kissing some strangers at a bar. As wonderful as catching some live entertainment sounds – I haven’t endured months of this only to give up with the finish line in view.

Enter, the Walk. It was drizzling, which it is wont to do during a Victorian springtime, so out the brollies came. This was a nature walk, taking in the sights, breathing deeply to savour the petrichor. We’d been out for about 15 minutes and were about to head towards home, when I paused.

I felt a pull to keep going just a little further, to a spot I haven’t visited in almost 20 years. It was as I approached that I almost stood on the branch, entranced with the tree it had fallen from. I paused, thanked the tree, and collected the treasure. I carried it home like a toddler with any similar prize – enchanted and protective at the same time.

The first attempt to place this new beloved into a vase did NOT go well; so I settled upon using some of my potting sand as ballast. This worked. So while for now I still don’t have a home among the gum trees, I DO have a gum tree in my home.

I’m pleased to say that I have definitely been feeling both calmer and happier since installing my branch . Apparently long, indoor, winters and no plant life make for dreadful mental health. Nature isn’t the only cure, but she certainly doesn’t hurt!