Wellbeing online focus group

On Monday 18th January 2021, Healthwatch Liverpool ran an online focus group for members of the public on the topic of Wellbeing, as it was ‘Blue Monday’, said to be the most depressing day of the year, or the day on which people feel at their lowest ebb The focus group was attended by 17 people.

The focus group aimed to understand in more depth what people have done to cope with isolation, and life more generally, during the Covid-19 pandemic; how they’ve adapted, what coping mechanisms they’ve used or developed and how it’s helped, as well as what the barriers have been and how easy/ difficult it has been to access social activities and support.

A number of frequently mentioned factors which prevented wellbeing and participation included:

• Not having own transport/ having to use public transport when living with people at higher risk/not being able to use public transport
• Not being able to do usual work/ activities
• Not being able to see relatives/friends/ work colleagues or to have proper social interaction with them; family living far away (nearly everyone mentioned this)
• Not being able to engage with others makes it harder to get motivated
• Working from home and being ‘linked in to work’ at all times/no differentiation between living and working spaces
• Differences in experiences for those working from home compared to working out of the home
• The frequent changes of rules - e.g. when deciding whether to see relatives or not

Despite the many challenges of life in a pandemic/lockdown, participants did identify some more positive aspects of life over the past few months. These included:

• Being forced to work at a slower pace compared to before lockdown when many were working at a burnout level
• Where people were able to work at home it was especially beneficial to those with additional needs that weren’t always catered for in the workplace
• Learning that how productive you are doesn’t define you

When asked what had helped their feelings of wellbeing, participants mentioned:

• Replacing existing hobbies with other things,
• Joining online groups or moving existing groups online
• Exercise – walking in the park, cycling to the shops instead of taking a bus, getting an exercise bike
• Getting out in nature
• More phone or online calls with relatives/friends
• Watching something on telly with someone else and discussing it afterwards + Having a structured day – and closing the work laptop during non-work hours.
• Increased number of days in work (not at home) – added structure
• Reading for pleasure
• Volunteering
• Learning new skills