Beating the Isolation Caused by COVID-19

There is no doubt that the coronavirus has taken the world’s collective breath away. People are getting sick by the thousands, with many not surviving. The governments around the globe have mostly shut down their countries to help prevent Covid19 as it kills even more people.

As a result of these government measures, people are being either encouraged or forced to remain at home. For some, this means isolating alone. How should a person, especially if they live alone, handle the inevitable loneliness and isolation? This piece will explore this question and give ideas on how to beat Covid19liness.

Covid19

This article would be remiss if it did not include a short review of what Covid19 is and how to remain safe from it.

Covid19 is one of several coronaviruses that can cause illness in humans and animals. Most coronaviruses are more or less harmless, causing upper respiratory symptoms such as a cough or runny nose. However, some, like Covid19, can cause extreme complications in the lungs that can lead to death.

First identified in late 2019, Covid19 is a disease that has since its emergence been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). This form of coronavirus is dangerous and can be deadly to anyone but especially those who are old and have underlying health issues. However, Covid19 has proven fatal to young people who were healthy and had no underlying conditions.

There are many things one can do to avoid contracting Covid19, including all of the following:

• Listen carefully to your state’s and country’s guidelines
• Stay at home whenever possible
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for twenty seconds
• If you have no access to soap and water use hand sanitizer
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
• Practice social distancing standing at least three feet from others
• Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently around your home

Following the steps detailed above still may not keep one from contracting the virus as it can live in the air after being sneezed or coughed out for up to three hours. To avoid this, stay home. If you must go out, be extremely fussy where you go, and make sure it is essential.

What Is Meant By “Flattening the Curve?”

We’ve heard news reports about the increasing number of people who have been diagnosed and died from Covid19. These events are placed on a graph to show the statistics as they pour in from all over the world.

On a graph, the line going up and down represents the y-axis, with the line going side to side being the x-axis. In charts you may have seen in the newspaper or on the television news, the y-axis is showing how many people have been diagnosed with Covid19. The x-axis showing over what length of time the cases have been reported each plotted on a graph.

When these plot marks are connected, we can see what is called a parabola, a curved line going up, reaching its apex (top), and then going down again.

Currently, the graph shows a steady increase in cases. It has not reached its apex where the cases will plateau and finally begin to decrease. To help keep the number of cases down, and thus the curve smaller, we must all do our part to flatten the curve or make it smaller. The bigger the curve, the more people have died. The smaller the curve, the more lives have been saved.

Isolation away from each other is the only means humans have of flattening the curve, making the number of deaths and illnesses less.

Isolation

If you are like many, you are amazed by how a virus that is smaller than a red blood cell is controlling the world. Humanity should be in awe of the power of nature over our own and be humbled by this tiny virus.

Remaining isolated from other people is extremely difficult as humans are very social animals. However, to flatten the curve of deaths from Covid19 isolating ourselves from others is crucial as it travels fast among people in contact with one another.

However, many people living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder have known the loneliness and pain of isolation before. Indeed, many have a deep-seated fear of being alone because of the way they were treated as children being ignored or neglected by caregivers.

For many, the isolation of the Covid19 pandemic is normal. These survivors feel unsafe in the presence of others and prefer their own company. Still, other survivors find themselves feeling a deep satisfaction. They think others who did not understand them before now understand the loneliness of growing up and living with the after-effects of childhood trauma.

The Toll Isolation Takes on the Mind and Body

Loneliness is no discriminator of persons as it strikes people of all demographics, not caring the color of skin, religious affiliation, or political thoughts of those affected. However, loneliness isn’t just inconvenient; for many, it has become a way of life. The 19^th Surgeon General of the United States, Vivek Murthy, stated that the rates of loneliness across the nation had doubled in the past few decades.

To compound this trend toward loneliness, people all across America and around the globe have been thrown into situations where they are isolated and alone.

The effects of loneliness are devastating as social isolation can increase the risk of early death by up to 32% due to mental and physical distress from isolation. The increase in mortality directly results from heightened smoking and alcohol consumption (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015) plus suicidal thoughts and actions. Add on the lack of physical activity, increasing obesity, and you have the perfect cocktail for disaster.

What You Can Do To Endure the Isolation

Isolation and the loneliness that accompanies it has become a massive concern for mental health professionals. They recognize the negative impact that remaining isolated has on the health of those who must remain not just alone, but inside their homes due to the pandemic.

There are steps you can take to help you endure the isolation and loneliness of the Covid19 pandemic. These include:

• Staying Active
• Connecting with Others
• Keeping a Schedule
• Being Creative
• Practicing Self-Compassion
• Planning for the Future

Staying Active. While staying active during a pandemic is more complicated than other times, it is vital to maintaining your physical and mental health. There are many online exercise classes available like those on SparkPeople.com that has both free and premium services that costs $4.99 per month.

Connecting with Others. Although you cannot visit with your family or friends in close interactions, you can still stay connected. You can do this by using social media and products like Facebook, Messenger, and Zoom. Remaining connected with those you care about will lessen the loneliness and ease the impact of isolation.

Keeping a Schedule. Modern humans are used to some kind of schedule of their day, such as getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, and going off to work. Making a daily schedule and sticking to it can also take away some of the anxiety and thus ease the impact of loneliness. It is vital to try and mimic your regular schedule by carrying out all the usual routines and finding some type of work to do at home.

Being Creative. Perhaps you have a DIY project you would like to do, or if you have talents in the arts, you can paint, write, or sing. What better time to practice your art then when isolated in your home during a pandemic? If you think you have no talents, think again. You can put together that puzzle you’ve had in your closet and later decoupage it to preserve your work. There are literally millions of ways to get creative during a situation such as the Covid19 pandemic.

Practicing Self-Compassion. Give yourself some love and cut back on the criticism of who you are or where you are in life. The pandemic has become the great equalizer offering everyone everywhere a chance to shine. Spend time doing deep breathing and meditation exercises to connect with your inner self and establish harmony within. Do some online shopping to buy that pair of shoes or the necklace you’ve been wanting or sit and pet your dog or cat enjoying the texture and warmth of their fur. Do things that make you know you care about yourself. This may seem difficult because you have low self-esteem. However, what better time to spend time getting to know yourself listing on paper all the talents and good things about yourself.

Planning for the Future. There will come a day when the pandemic will end, and all of us will be released from our isolation and loneliness. Make plans for the future involving things you will do differently that will improve your financial and personal situation. Allow yourself to daydream a little about what steps you will take to achieve your new goals. Keeping your mind busy planning for the future will help you remember that there will be an end to the loneliness, and you will be with people again.

Life is Life

To conclude our time together, I would like to end on a positive note. Yes, the isolation brought upon us by Covid19 is harsh and sometimes can feel unbearable; however, we can not only bear it but thrive because of it.

No other time in recent history has there been a situation where humanity got the chance to reset our priorities and goals. Now is the time to understand that life is life, and it is precious.

All humans are precious, and this has become painfully obvious in recent days.

Give yourself and your loved ones living in your household a hug and tell them you love them. Don’t waste time worrying or brooding about the loneliness you feel when you can be spending those precious moments building yourself and others up. Make the Covid19 pandemic a time of renewal.

“It’s amazing to see the beauty of the world. It’s so beautiful and so brutal. It’s a reminder that every second of life is precious.” ~ Sally Green

“It dawns on you one day… how precious your life is and how not okay it is for anyone, ever, to cause you any amount of suffering, ever. Then the next time you step out the door, you look at everyone, and you’re thinking, “My life is precious, and you’re not allowed to hurt me.” ~ C. Joybell C.

References  

Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Baker M, Harris T, Stephenson D. Loneliness, and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality. 2015; 10(2):227-237. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614568352