This week: “Hey everyone! I’m a 24-year-old psychological wellbeing practitioner living in London. A psychological wellbeing practitioner is an NHS mental health therapist role (it’s a fairly new position and a lot of people haven’t heard of us before). I provide assessments and treatment for people with ‘common mental health problems’ (depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, stress etc.). I enjoy my role but it’s definitely challenging.
I spent the first three months of lockdown at home in Essex with my family (mum, stepdad, younger brother) as all of our work became remote delivery (e.g. over telephone or video call), but I recently moved back to my houseshare in London.
I’m single and live with three other housemates who I met through SpareRoom (one other girl, two guys). We get on really well but are all normally quite busy so we don’t always hang out. I’m currently trying to balance working from home and the impact that is having on my mental health while also working within the mental health field. I’m also currently adjusting to living alone (although with housemates) back in London after living with my family for three months (which is the longest I’ve lived with them since being 18). I definitely enjoy my own space though so it’s good to be back…”
Industry: NHS mental health
Age: 24
Location: London
Salary: £29,888
Paycheque amount: £1,745 take-home pay
Number of housemates: Three
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £657 a month for rent, plus about £60 for bills. I also normally pay an extra £20 a month for a weekly cleaner who obviously hasn’t been able to come round recently but she’s hopefully coming back in the next couple of weeks. When I was living with my family my mum also asked that I contribute £30 a week for the food shopping but since being back in London I obviously no longer pay that!
Loan payments: £20 for undergraduate, £40 for postgraduate.
Transportation: Very lucky to be able to walk to work (when we were in the office) and now I make the big commute from my bed to my desk every day which costs a grand total of £0.
Phone bill: £34 a month.
Savings? £1,950 in a Help To Buy ISA, £1,100 in an easy access savings account. I used to have a lot more in savings but last year I bought a car, went on some great holidays and moved to London, which pretty much wiped my savings. I’ve been trying to save at least £200 a month since moving to London, some months with more success than others.
Other: I have a car which includes all the (very) expensive running costs, about £97 a month for my car insurance which covers having my younger brother on the insurance (we’re car sharing this year so I can mostly keep my car in Essex to bring down my insurance costs. He paid his half of the yearly insurance at the start of the year, which was great then but means I’m still paying out a lot each month), £6 a month for car tax (halved with my brother), £3 a month for Netflix (halved with my brother), £7.99 a month for laptop repair cover (would really recommend as it’s saved me hundreds of pounds in repairs).
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6.20am: Alarm goes off. I naively set this alarm last night to get up and do some exercise before work but now I just turn it and try to go back to sleep.
7am: Haven’t been able to get back to sleep so slowly drag myself out of bed to get a coffee. Convince myself to do a 20-minute ab workout in my room. I do it very slowly but feel better for having done some exercise.
7.45am: Finished getting ready (the classic work from home outfit of gym leggings and a nice shirt) and go downstairs to make breakfast. While making breakfast I see a spider and immediately freak out. I don’t mind spiders outside but I hate spiders being in my house. Put a cup over it and am contemplating whether to move out or burn the whole house down when one of my housemates (B) comes downstairs. I beg her to take the spider out to the garden and she does. A hero!
7.59am: Even with spider-gate I still sit down for work one minute early. Feel very impressed with myself and check my work diary while having my second coffee. Feels like it’s been a long morning already.
10.30am: Had a difficult morning at work with some tricky assessments so decide to have a quick break. Spend about half an hour putting various items of clothing into online shopping baskets, then feeling guilty about spending money on clothes and deleting them all. Repeat multiple times.
10.45am: Realise that I should stop procrastinating and actually do some work before my next appointment at 11. Leave all items in online shopping basket to maybe return to later but for now it’s time to prep for my next appointment.
12pm: 12 o’clock on the dot is lunchtime. I can’t understand people who can survive any longer since I literally clock-watch the entire morning for it. Make myself some toast with avocado and baked beans as I need to use both of those things up before going food shopping later. Chat to housemate (G, who is currently furloughed) while making lunch.
2.30pm: Busy afternoon of back-to-back appointments but in a quick five-minute break I order some dermaplaning razor refills from Amazon. Dermaplaning is a really great way of getting rid of the ‘peach fuzz’ hairs that grow on your face while also exfoliating. I’d always wanted to get it done but it was so expensive in a salon so during lockdown I made an impulse purchase of a DIY kit from Veet. It’s great. The only issue now is I’m so used to my skin being fuzz-free that I have to maintain it. £16.99 for two refills and some new skin oil. Also book a table at a pub for Sunday lunch with a friend.
4pm: Finish work! Today’s been a tough day with lots of complex appointments – it’s days like this I really miss working in the office with my team and being able to debrief or just chat about random shit. I did have a final session though with a client who has recovered and gave me some really lovely feedback so I try to remember this instead of focusing on the negatives. As for the many tasks on my to-do list, they are problems for Tomorrow Me.
4.30pm: Drag myself for a run (read: a walk with some slightly faster walking).
5.30pm: Head to Aldi. Definitely didn’t pick the right time to come as there’s quite a queue outside but stick on My Dad Wrote A Porno (highly recommend) and actually enjoy queuing while people-watching. Shopping comes to £24.35.
6.30pm: Home for dinner. Salmon stir fry tonight. I’m finding it really strange only cooking for one person again after living with my family for three months where I cooked dinner most nights. Realise I much prefer cooking for other people than just myself. Chill with two housemates (B and G) for a bit.
8.30pm: Face mask on (a skincare one, not a virus one), hair mask on and in bed watching the series Homecoming on Amazon Prime. First episode tonight so let’s see how it goes (on reflection: it was good but I wasn’t hooked).
10pm: Super tired so give up watching Homecoming halfway through the second episode. The usual last-minute scroll on social media (a bad habit I know) and then it’s time to sleep.
Total: £41.34
6.40am: Alarm goes off. Spend five minutes intensely regretting my decision to use a hair mask as now I have to shower again to wash it out.
8am: Dressed and ready (even decided to treat myself to wearing makeup today). The usual breakfast (porridge, flax seeds, strawberries, blueberries) and second coffee as I look at my diary for today. I have fewer appointments but a lot of paperwork and other tasks to do so looks like it’s going to be another busy day.
8.55am: Suddenly remember that I got an email the other day informing me that my DBS was due to be updated but the payment had failed (it usually automatically renews but I had changed bank accounts since the last update). Change my details on my DBS online account and pay the update fee. £13
12pm: Lunchtime! I always try to arrange my appointments so I have my lunch break at 12. It’s better for everyone if I don’t get hangry. FaceTime a friend from work while we have lunch. I really make sure to touch base with my friends at work and we often try to arrange to have a virtual lunch club together.
1.25pm: Internet crashed while on an appointment with a patient! Our phones are routed through the internet so when it goes down everything just cuts out. Spend 10 minutes trying to reconnect to the internet and eventually get through to my patient. She’s super understanding and we finish up our appointment and set her treatment goals for this week. Hopefully the internet won’t crash for the rest of my appointments today…
4.30pm: Finished work a little late today but finally done (also no more internet mishaps!). Now off to do some exercise in the garden with my housemate’s weights.
5.40pm: Okay so I reeeeeaally wasn’t feeling the exercise… Even though I was out there for an hour I think I only did about 10 minutes’ worth of exercise and the rest of the time spent scrolling on my phone.
6.30pm: Dinner done. Salmon stir fry again. Spend more time with housemates just watching TV.
8pm: Hourlong phone catch-up with one of my friends which was SO NEEDED. She’s my best friend from school but lives in Bristol now so we don’t see each other as much as we’d like. Catch up on everything including new boys on Hinge (her) and new plants (me). Spend more time with housemates after.
10.30pm: Wanted to start a new book tonight (Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson) but too tired so decide to go to sleep instead.
Total: £13
6.50am: Alarm goes off. I like having at least an hour in the morning before I start work. It probably only takes me 20 minutes to actually get ready but I find having this time to myself where I don’t have to rush is so important. I try not to look at my phone during this time as well.
8am: The usual morning routine completed, it’s looking like a much quieter day at work as I only have a couple of appointments booked and I managed to power through a lot of admin yesterday. Spend the first bit of the morning just checking my diary and making sure all my appointments are booked in for the next few weeks.
9.30am: Running very late for my COVID antibody test. The test is due to be done in a building on our main hospital grounds but the issue is that a) the grounds are annoyingly big, b) I don’t know where the building I’m supposed to be going to is, and c) when I eventually find the building it turns out that the testing has moved to another building on the other side of the grounds…
10am: FINALLY found the building and got the test done. I’ll be emailed my results in a couple of days to see whether the coronavirus antibodies are present.
10.30am: Manage to get home just in time for my next appointment: a penultimate session with a patient I’ve been working with for a while. We’ve developed a good therapeutic relationship and she’s been so engaged, it’s been great to work with her throughout treatment and to see her progress. I would definitely say that one of the biggest determinants of ‘successful’ therapy is the client’s willingness to try. You have to be open to changing and the effort that will require.
12.05pm: Shock, it’s time for lunch (although I am five minutes late today).
1pm: Had a long lunch to make up for the fact that I was five minutes late (not technically allowed but hey, no one is watching). We are supposed to have training on Friday afternoons but it’s all been cancelled for this week so instead I take the time to do some more admin.
4.30pm: Finished work and meet my friend for a socially distanced run. Actually run my fastest 5k in a while! Quick catch-up after the run.
6pm: Got home and was going to do some weight training in the garden but after procrastinating for half an hour I’ve decided I can’t be bothered. Feel a bit stiff after the run so decide to do some stretchy yoga instead.
6.15pm: Disaster strikes as an entire shelf of Tupperware falls on me. I thought spider-gate was bad but that was nothing compared to half-holding up a shelf while hundreds of Tupperware pieces fall on me and the ground.
6.20pm: Recover from Tupperware-gate with the help of housemate A who is a builder and manages to reattach the shelf. Restack Tupperware with trepidation.
8.30pm: Dinner done and face mask on. Honestly feel like my skin has gotten so bad since returning to London and being exposed to the air quality and pollution. But anyway, tonight is a movie night in bed with myself and I can’t wait.
11pm: Wild night in and now it’s time to sleep.
Total: £0
8am: Alarm goes off. I get really bad insomnia so normally I’m awake when my alarm goes off in the morning but I like having an alarm to tell me that this is the time I need to get out of bed.
8.30am: Cook myself banana pancakes with Meridian peanut butter (the BEST peanut butter), strawberries and blueberries. Eat breakfast and have coffee in bed.
10am: Start working in the garden with one of my housemates. Our garden has so much potential but it’s become really overgrown from before we moved in so we’re trying to clear it out and make it a nicer space. Neighbour sees us struggling outside and lends us some gardening tools. I feel very cool wielding a saw and trying to cut through some dead branches.
12pm: Finish with the garden for today as need to get ready to meet some friends.
1.30pm: Pop to Aldi to get some more groceries. £8.11
4pm: Meet a friend in a bar. It’s strange being back in a bar after so long but the bar has done really well with ensuring social distancing and it’s nice to be somewhere different. Makes me realise just how expensive drinks at a bar are, though… £40 for my rounds of the drinks.
12am: I’m drunk. Bar is round the corner from my house so walk home.
Total: £48.11
8am: Wake up surprisingly not hungover. Didn’t set an alarm today but my body clock is annoyingly good at waking me up at 8am. Make myself a coffee and more banana pancakes to eat in bed. Discover Criminal Minds is now showing on Amazon Prime and binge a few episodes.
11.30am: Unfortunately have to get out of bed to get ready. Ugh. But meeting a friend for lunch today so excited to see her as I haven’t for ages. Phone my mum as I get ready – I pretty much speak to her every day when I’m not living with her, she pretends to get fed up of me phoning her so often but I know she loves it. Discuss her latest furlough project: painting the garden fence. Who knew so much could be said about painting a fence…
12.30pm: Running late and then remember I need to get petrol. Spend £20.83. Now running even more late. My friend lives in Portsmouth so we’re both driving and meeting in a town halfway.
1.30pm: Have a nightmare finding parking but eventually squeeze my car into a spot. A van then pulls in next to me and I have to wait for it to finish parking before I can get out of my car. Now running even later. £2.50 on parking.
1.45pm: Finally get to the pub I’m meeting my friend at. I order a chicken salad and chips (because balance) and a couple of Diet Cokes (over the time we’re there, not in one go). My salad comes with garlic bread and despite my body’s intolerance to gluten I decide it’s worth the pain and eat it. £17.73
6.30pm: Finally get back to London and pay my housemate to get me some vegan Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and some porridge oats since she’s going shopping. £5.80
7.30pm: Eat ice cream in bed for dinner, watching more Criminal Minds.
11pm: Absolutely knackered so time for bed.
Total: £46.86
8am: Alarm goes off. On Mondays I work from 12-8pm (instead of my usual 8am-4pm). Debate going for a run for about half an hour before deciding that I will go for one.
9am: Get to the nearest park, start running for approximately three minutes and then decide that I can’t be bothered and give up. Walk around the common listening to The Food Medic podcast instead. So nice that the sun is out today!
10.30am: Get home, have breakfast and do a couple of life admin bits to get ready for the week.
12pm: Starting the working day with supervision. We have a lot of different types of supervision through the week but this one is with a higher intensity therapist to discuss all my patients I’m seeing for treatment. We talk about any cases I’m struggling with and discuss how I could move forwards with the patient. Supervision is so vital for any therapist; no one knows everything so it’s really helpful to have that space to explore with another perspective the best ways to develop my skills and treatment.
2pm: Due to having supervision at 12 and then agreeing to wait for a work friend to finish her 1 o’clock appointment, I don’t eat lunch until 2! FaceTime friend while eating. Eat the salad that I had prepared for myself and then eat a second lunch of pesto pasta because I’m so hungry.
5pm: A fairly quiet day today as only had a couple of assessments and both my treatment patients for today cancelled. Take the time to finish writing up notes. Have an online group session to run in 15 minutes so have a quick snack beforehand.
7.45pm: Finished all my appointments for today and managed to get through a lot of my to-do list so finish work 15 minutes early (the perks of working from home).
8pm: Make a quick vegetarian dinner and chat to a friend on the phone while I eat.
9pm: More Criminal Minds!
10.30pm: Bed.
Total: £0
6.20am: The early alarm is back. Ugh. Didn’t sleep very well at all so I was already awake; drag myself out of bed and do a quick 25-minute workout in my bedroom. I like exercising first thing in the morning but I’ve definitely slipped out of the routine I established while living with my family. Definitely noticing my motivation to exercise has decreased but I’m going to try from next week to create a good routine again as exercise is so important for my own mental wellbeing.
8am: Standard breakfast and second coffee while I check my diary for today. Have a lot of back-to-back appointments so it’s going to be a stressful day.
10am: SO HUNGRY TODAY. Feel like I haven’t stopped snacking all morning. Really struggling with motivation as well. I have a half-hour gap in my diary now and rather than doing anything that I should, I just stare mindlessly out of my window until it’s time for my next appointment.
12pm: So excited to eat again. Have lunch.
2.30pm: Receive a concerning email from a patient with a history of self-harm. Phone the patient back straightaway and create a safety plan to help her manage her current self-harming urges. Discuss strategies that she can use this evening, emergency contact numbers, and agree to call her back tomorrow to see how she feels then. Phone a supervisor for risk supervision afterwards to check that I’ve done everything I can.
4pm: Finish work. Head to Aldi for the food shopping. No queue! £18.33
5pm: Meeting a friend for a socially distanced park drink so eat the quickest food I can find: potato waffles and baked beans.
5.30pm: Meet friend outside a pub and we get takeaway drinks to sit outside. So lovely to catch up. £9.50 for my drinks.
8pm: Rush home as have a virtual book club meeting at 8! Attending the book club sessions was a lot easier in lockdown when I didn’t have any other plans but I really enjoy discussing the books (and the book this month was my recommendation, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi) so luckily make it home in time for the chat.
9.30pm: Finish our book club and realise that I have forgotten again to order the toiletries and makeup that I need. Finally get round to it. Although I’ve started this week going to pubs with friends, I’m still trying to limit my non-essential contact with the public so I’m trying to order as much as I can online still. £31.50
10pm: Luckily have enough time to squeeze in an episode of Criminal Minds!
Total: £59.33
Food/Drink: £123.82
Entertainment: £0
Clothes/Beauty: £48.49
Travel: £23.33
Other: £13
Total: £208.64
Conclusion
“I think this was a fairly average weekly spend for me. I always knew food and drink would be my biggest spend but I think it’s kinda shocked me just how much I would probably spend on average! I’m definitely adjusting to being out of lockdown and living back in London nearer my friends again. I went from spending so little during lockdown to now spending a lot more again. I think particularly because it’s been months since I’ve seen some of my friends, I am trying to do the most that I can with them at the moment. I’m definitely going to try and pick cheaper options for bars and restaurants moving forwards! While it may look like I’ve met friends a lot this week, I’m still trying to be as careful as possible. I would say that this is reflective of how social I normally am, as I really value spending time with my friends, so it’s just been adjusted to the current circumstances.”
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