Survived the first week of lockdown. Here’s a couple of lessons I’ve learned about this whole being stuck at home for the foreseeable future thing:
It’s important to have your own space when you’re stuck with family. If possible we stay in different rooms to work during the day and don’t get in each other’s way as much as we can.
Coffee is a lifesaver and I’m not sure what I’d do without our machine.
Calling people is important.
Listen, I hate calling people. Just don’t like it. But. Yes, chatting is good. Emailing is good. But it’s not the same. To create that feeling of actual social interaction, of connecting with others, calling is incredibly important. Video-chatting is even better. [Finally got my SO to try it cause they’re even more reluctant about these things than I am. But it really helps to give you that feeling of closeness and make you feel less isolated and cut-off.]
Reaching out to people right now is important. This whole being stuck in isolation thing is really hard on mental health, particularly for people who were already struggling before.
Sticking to your routine as much as possible is also very important. Get up in the morning. Shower. Put on some make-up. Dress nicely. [Casual unless you like hanging out at home all day in fancy clothes, it’s totally cool if you do. I admire you, but I’m sticking to comfortable pants.]
Have regular meals. If you’re not alone like me, we eat lunch and dinner together at our usual times and breakfast on the weekends. That regularly “timed” interaction also helps because then you can avoid each other again for the next few hours so you’re feeling close but you’re also not constantly stepping on each other
Talk about the situation. Not like anyone seems to talk about anything else, but the people who are stuck with you have to deal with the exact same situation. They understand you. More importantly, if you are stressed, things are bothering you and you’re bottling it all up, these people are gonna notice anyways, cause they’re constantly around you. Communication helps keep friction down.
Play a board game. I’m constantly sitting in front of a screen, this change of scenery feels nice.
If you have a dog, pet the dog.
If you have a cat, feed the cat. [They’ll demand attention and petting anyways, as is their just payment for gracing you with their presence.]
Indulge in virtual coffee breaks, virtual aperitifs, virtual gaming nights, whatever. Keep those contacts going. Humans are social beings, whether we’re more introverted or more extroverted.
Limit your news intake. At the start, while waiting for official lockdown announcement [which hasn’t actually happened yet, but all non-essential businesses, schools etc. are shut down and gatherings with more than five people are forbidden, so we’re steadily getting closer] I kept refreshing the news constantly. But there’s staying informed and then there’s getting sucked into that depressing doomsday-everythings-over mindset. So now I stick to informing myself once a day and otherwise avoiding the subject as much as I can and focusing on other things.
[When outside for the shortest period of time possible, be friendly and understanding and kind. To everyone, but particularly to grocery store workers. They deal with enough.]
Do the best you can and if that doesn’t work, read fanfiction. And no, I will not be taking constructive criticism on my coping mechanisms at this point.
