Cheshire Life’s new columnist, Real Housewife of Cheshire Lauren Simon, tells us how the health crisis is helping her reset her life and rediscover what’s important.

I’ve been labelled eccentric, straight-talking, a feisty red-head who loves a good party, so how am I coping with lockdown – and more importantly, how are you?

Covid-19 has made us all slow down our pace of life.

Always a cup-half-full person, I’m going back to the slower flow of the Cheshire lady I always wanted to be. This means daily walks with my dog, time in the garden and the kitchen with my children, just doing what we want, at the speed we want to. Celebrating my birthday in lockdown made me value what is really important to me. I know many people are using their free time to declutter their homes but I’ve decluttered my social and emotional life, choosing who I speak to on a daily basis, and realising who I miss. I’ve also discovered who I can live without.

Following the trend of downloading the Houseparty app I realised although it has real value in allowing us all to stay in touch, I could easily slip into overuse and I had to explore other options and perhaps look to myself, rather than friends and family to find strength in these challenging times.

I decided therefore to read all the self-help books I had ever bought. My favourite two so far are Super Attractor by Gabrielle Bernstein and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin Sharma. The first is about finding the confidence to release the past and move forward, and the second, letting go of the importance of material things and living a more spiritual life.

Those who watched the earlier series of Real Housewives of Cheshire will know I have been on a tough journey of my own, through an awful divorce, but now I am ready to discover the real me again and set out on the next stage of my life. These books aren’t a guide for how I shall do that, but provide ideas, inspiration and an understanding that I am not alone in everything I have been through.

I know during this awful crisis some of you may have been ill, lost someone dear to you or have an amazing NHS or key worker in your family risking their life every day. However, positives can result from negatives and I am seeing this on social media and the news – people are reconnecting, talking to neighbours they had never met before, appreciating the roles of workers in different jobs that keep our worlds turning every day...

Nothing lasts forever but we will all be changed by this experience and hopefully the positives will continue to lift our lives, and make the world we live in a better, kinder place.