Shanghai-based life coach Colin Thompson noticed the stress around him and wanted to do something. As the city went into lockdown , Thompson, who has lived in China for 12 years, saw that his clients were under extra pressure. “For the first time in most people’s lives, we were now working from home, kids are home from school, and it’s turned people’s lives upside down,” he said. “A lot of my clients say I cannot concentrate on coaching right now because I’m going stir crazy at home.” It is a feeling reported across the city, with residents expressing anger, frustration and helplessness, with no end in sight. The megacity of 25 million people has been in lockdown for over two weeks and reports have emerged of some residents screaming from windows and others sneaking out in the middle of the night to barter for food. The city’s elderly have also reported to have been left forgotten and gone days without enough food. Thompson said his priority was to help people learn to “maintain and endure through the pandemic” so he teamed up with Anne Ferri, director of Community Centre Shanghai, to set up a crew of volunteer “Covid coaches”, offering free online counselling sessions. The team collectively speak eight languages and come from various backgrounds – from psychologists to relationship coaches – and run 60-minute sessions. “People still have a lot of negative stigma toward counselling, people are very shy to say they want to talk to a counsellor,” Thompson said. “So, we decided, let’s put life coaching in here and see what happens.” How to stay sane working from home with your kids studying online In the two weeks since offering one-on-one sessions on the community website, nearly 50 people, both foreigners and locals alike, have signed up. Tiffany Allen, a mathematics teacher living in Shanghai, first sought out coaching for her daughter after she noticed her morale was swiftly declining. “The sessions provided effective tools for my daughter to cope. Also, the various resources through WeChat groups have served as a restoration of hope for us both,” Allen said. The 30 year-old said she felt a mix of anxiety and stress during the lockdown. Isolation and food shortages were her main concerns and she found herself at a loss as to how to best protect her eight-year-old daughter. “It has been a challenging, complex time with so much ambiguity, it almost demands anxiety,” she said. “As a result of uncertainty, the lockdown has heightened our fear because in less than 24 hours, rules, expectations and laws can be changed.” The lockdown has not only restricted access to food and other essentials, it has prevented many from visiting friends and family in the city. Anson Au, an assistant professor of sociology at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said human contact was critical to health. “Humans are naturally social creatures, and socialising regularly with other people has probably the best positive effect for your health. The effect of that is more powerful than exercising or even eating healthy,” Au said. “So you take that away, then naturally, people are going to feel a little bit of this adjustment disorder where suddenly they feel a little bit isolated.” Au said some people were more vulnerable than others and lockdowns increased existing mental health inequalities. Single parents, the elderly and people on lower incomes were the most vulnerable and coping the worst with the lockdown, he said. “It’s not the rich person who’s screaming from his rooftop with too many fountains in his front yard who is suffering the most,” he said. “It’s going to be the single mum of two, who’s living in a teeny, tiny, coffin-sized apartment with two kids and doesn’t have enough to make ends meet.” ‘Speechless’: health worker’s death amid Shanghai lockdown sparks online furore Robyn, a teacher in Shanghai who lives alone, said the lockdown had taken a massive toll on her mental health. The 30 year-old, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, said she had “never felt so alone” and “such a sense of hopelessness before”. She signed up for the free counselling sessions from the Covid coaches “to overcome feelings of despair and anxiety about things I have no control over” and “get advice and guidance on my next steps for the future”. Ferri, from Community Centre Shanghai, said most people seeking support said they were dealing with increased anxiety, depression and relationship conflicts. “Shanghai is a great dynamic city, and it’s a great place to live. But it’s been more and more confined over the last few years,” Ferri said. “People are struggling – have been struggling since 2020. But what is different, though, is that a lot of people haven’t seen their families for two or three years. We have not had a lot of opportunities to travel even outside of Shanghai. “It’s been two years. And I think that’s why people are thinking it’s never going to end.” Expert tips on coping with lockdown Colin Thompson suggests: Don’t keep it in – parents, in particular, think they need to keep their fear hidden from their children. Talk it out. Be self aware – when you are isolating the cracks in your relationship will be put under a magnify glass so make sure to acknowledge those problems. Get in touch – talk to friends, family, anyone, try to maintain some level of socialising. Set goals – ask yourself what can you accomplish during lockdown? What can you get done now and then in six months you can look back and say you’ve achieved something during all that time at home? Anson Au suggests: Try to reconnect – reach out over zoom or WeChat with other people and don’t be afraid to bring up conversation about mental health. Anne Ferri suggests: If you find that you aren’t coping, acknowledge where you are at and try to find a purpose and routine. Try to stay healthy through food and exercise, and get the family together to play board games, cook and eat.