What have you done in lockdown? During the first one there was talk of home improvement and fitness programmes.

Now we are on the third what have you done? If, like me, there is no longer a great list of amazing house improvements, then I wouldn’t worry. Perhaps something more profound has happened.

I have noticed a recent trend of people stumbling into big self realisations, finding out more about who they are and what they want even though they were not purposely soul searching for those answers.

Perhaps it is that we all have too much time to reflect in these quiet times, causing us to hit a mental wall of things that we have previously been drowning out with the hustle of life. Ideally you will show compassion to yourself and allow it to become a time of growth and not a time of existential dread.

Scientific studies have shown that a belief in religion can help the human mind when dealing with big questions of life and death. Having someone to take our troubles to helps us stay resilient.

Even small realisations of why we behave in certain ways can be uncomfortable even if they are ultimately of great benefit. For if we have a bias formed by personal trauma and we find ourselves exploring it in the stillness, although the process may be painful, we can soon find ourselves changed.

Perhaps we will emerge like butterflies from this time having learned that we have more in common with each other than we even dreamed about.

If you do hit that wall then do reach out to someone and talk, be kind to yourself and remember we are not alone even though we may be on our own. We are worthy of love and compassion and we must be gentle as we all start learning to love and better understand ourselves.