Joe Wicks says he's struggling with his mental health after PM's announcement on new restrictions
Watch: Joe Wicks opens up on his mental health struggles
Joe Wicks has opened up on how his mental health has been affected after Boris Johnson’s announcement detailing new lockdown restrictions.
On Tuesday night, the Prime Minister addressed the nation with the new measures, which include a 10pm closing time for pubs and restaurants and fines for not wearing masks or following rules increasing to £200.
In a video to his Instagram followers, Wicks, 35, opened up on his struggles by telling fans they "are not alone".
Read more: Joe Wicks vows he won’t do Strictly
"This is such a tough time emotionally, spiritually and mentally and I think it's important to talk about it,” he said.
"I've just finished watching the press conference with Boris Johnson about the new UK COVID restrictions and I can really feel for the first time this is really starting to take affect on my mental health now, it's really starting to bring me down.
"I'm finding it hard to be optimistic, I'm finding it confusing. I feel like I don't understand and can't even comprehend where the end is."
Johnson has said the rules could stay in place for the next six months following an increase in coronavirus cases in the UK.
The fitness coach went on to explain how the measures were "distancing" him from loved ones and that being apart from them was having a negative impact on him.
He added that it was important to talk about struggling in the new circumstances and to keep physically active.
"If you go the opposite way and you wallow in it and sit on your sofa, watch TV and you eat junk food or you turn to drugs or alcohol and you neglect your physical health, your mental health is just going to deteriorate even quicker," he said.
Read more: Joe Wicks says father’s heroin addiction saved his life
The father-of-two stressed the importance of exercise throughout lockdown with his daily PE lessons for children.
After he brought the sessions to a close after 18 weeks he said he was feeling "confused and lost" without the daily streamed workouts and has since brought ‘PE with Joe’ back for a special one-off.
