Working from home and spending days in-home quarantine doing pretty much nothing sounded interesting in the beginning. But after a few days or weeks, people are already tired of it. It is like you are in a modern age cage. Despite all the technology, internet, Zoom video calls, and social networks, it seems that we are all slowly realizing that social distancing is not in our nature.
Why Staying Home Is Not so Easy
We all have those days when we do not want to go out nor to see our friends. But that usually does not last longer than three days, simply because we are human beings, and it is in our nature to socialize and interact with other people. Some people can stay alone and never have a dull moment, but the majority is struggling to stay alone. Maybe it would not be so challenging if we were not in a situation like this.
Currently, all media and social networks are only reporting about Coronavirus. All we hear and read has to do something with the number of people who died, how many covid 19 test kits are left, how many face masks, etc. The situation is very intense, and it is hard to isolate yourself from so much negative information.
How People Cope With Isolation
So far, you have probably noticed the vast number of people who suddenly started baking, exercising, reading, or doing yoga and sharing it on social media every day. People need to do something, to be productive; it is their way to cope with it. But that does not mean that they are not experiencing negative feelings. This is not a natural situation for people, so sooner or later, everyone’s mood will drop to a certain point. And that is ok. It is ok to be worried in these uncertain times.
How Isolation Impacts Our Mind and Body
After some time, all those small things that bring us joy will stop doing that, and we will feel a bit lethargic, depressed, or even anxious. It is all expected during this isolation. People can cope well with it only until a certain point. For some, that breaking point comes after two weeks, for some after a month, there are no rules. Also, the fact that we do not know how long all this will last contributes significantly to that. If we knew that in two or three weeks it would all be over and we could continue with our lives, everything would be easier.
This quarantine situation has such a big impact on us because we are still confused about what is going on. It seems like it was yesterday when Coronavirus was far away in China, and now the entire world is struggling to deal with this virus. We do not know how to treat it or cure it, we do not know why it attacks mainly seniors, and most importantly, we do not even know if we have it or not. Some people do not experience Coronavirus symptoms at all, others develop them after two weeks, so it is very stressful for our mind.
Another important factor is loneliness as many people are quarantining alone, especially seniors, and that makes everything ten times harder. It impacts our sleep, our immune response, the neurocognitive system, and the way we function daily. If you live alone, call someone; it is essential to talk to other people. Check the phone numbers for psychological counseling; there are a lot of them right now in all countries because the number of people who are struggling to cope with this mentally is incredibly high.
Is Social Distancing Saving Our Health?
We know that it sounds unbelievable, and this is probably the first time that something like this is happening, but staying home and isolating yourself from other people is the best way to protect yourself from this virus. However, we have to keep in mind people who are most affected by this situation, such as those who have low income and cannot work and those who are alone. If you know someone who is lonely or does not have a lot of friends, give them a call to check up on them and see if they need anything. The best thing we can do right now is to show that we care.
