Life in a second lockdown
Lockdown number 2
Just when I thought life was slowly going back to normal and I would get my freedom back, a significant proportion of the Victorian population entered into lockdown this week.
When I heard the news, I was devastated. I had been enjoying a taste of freedom again — sitting in cafes and restaurants with my friends and partner. Going away for the weekend. Going to the shops rather than buying almost everything online. I had started to feel healthy again on the inside and the outside.
But then Victoria experienced a second wave of coronavirus cases and we were ordered by the government to go into lockdown to “flatten the curve” again.
Despite the disappointment that I have to isolate again, I try to remember that I am very lucky — I still have a job, a lovely flat to live in, caring friends and family and a supportive partner. But the loneliness, isolation and disconnection from people has been difficult. Sometimes it has been hard waking up in the morning — dealing with the reality that we are in a pandemic. I have often wished it was just a bad dream and not our current reality.
Although I am a highly sensitive person and most highly sensitive people are seen as introverts, I am actually more of an extrovert. I love time on my own to recharge and think, read and write. But I also love seeing people in person, socialising in groups and meeting new people. I find people fascinating and love finding out how they tick. This is why I studied psychology at university.
The coronavirus pandemic has left a hole in my life — one that used to be filled with family catch-ups, outings with friends and coffee catch ups with my colleagues. Each week day, I wake up and am faced with a computer screen in my own home. I do everything in my small studio flat — eat, sleep, work, read and write. My little flat is not designed for 24/7 living. It is meant for someone with a full life outside the home, who mainly uses the flat for eating, resting and sleeping. It is no surprise then that I often feel stir-crazy and desperate to get out.
Strategy for survival
There are now five and a half weeks of this lockdown left. I have devised a survival strategy to get me through this period:
- Daily meditation.
- Regular yoga, barre or pilates you tube workouts (my favourites are workout hotel and popsugar fitness).
- Read books every week.
- Write articles for my blog each week.
- Journal at least once a week.
- Watch my favourite shows on Stan, Netflix or Amazon in the evenings.
- Have quality time with my partner each week.
- Regular phone or video calls with my family and friends.
- Only work my set hours.
- Eat healthy food and keep mindless snacking to a minimum.
If you are also in a lockdown or isolated at home, I hope you are okay and that the above list gives you some ideas of how to survive this time.
Just know that you are not alone — lots of people care about you. And one day you will have your freedom back — you will be able to walk about freely without having to wear a mask and apply hand sanitiser fanatically. You will be able to travel freely in your own country and overseas.
One day in the future, you will look back upon this time and although knowing it was an unusually difficult time, it was valuable too as it made you appreciate the freedom you once took for granted and it provided you with the resilience to survive and hope for a better future — the one you live in now.
