We are now 4 weeks into the lock down in the UK due to the global
Covid-19 pandemic. So, how is everyone coping with the isolation? Many of
us aren't coping very well at all, others are having the time of their
lives. So, what can we do to improve the situation if we are one of the
ones who are struggling?
It is important to remember
that there is little you can do about the current situation we all find
ourselves in, but there is much you can do to control how you react to
it. These are truly unprecedented times for us all. We are so used
to our freedom. To going to the pub when we feel like it, to catching up with
friends over brunch, to popping into see our mums and dad for a brew and a
natter, to going to the shops to buy new clothes or furniture for your home or
garden, yet here we are, for the first time in most of our lifetimes, unable to
do these things we have always taken so much for granted in life. Probably the
hardest thing for most of us is the isolation. We are social beings and
are drawn to the people we love and care about. We need them to boost our
mental health and wellbeing yet here we are unable to make contact physically
with the people who are dear to us.
The way I see this time is our
lives is I see it as a gift. An opportunity for life to pause for a
little while. A time for us to stop and reflect about life. It has certainly
made many of us notice the things that are really important to us and the
things that aren't. We realise more than ever how important our people
are to us - the people who matter in our lives. We long for the day we
can see them again, give them a hug and just be together. You hear people
saying things like, 'I will never take a hug from you for granted again'. Let's
hope these things remain true and the impact of isolation doesn't just wear off
and we revert back to our old ways.
We also appreciate our
essential workers much more than we probably ever did before. How often
before all this were you grateful to the people working in your supermarkets
for stacking the shelves so you can get all your essentials for your weekly
shop? How much have you appreciated in the past the postman continuing to
deliver you mail, the bin man continuing to collect your rubbish, the delivery
drivers delivering fresh fruit and veg to the shops for you? All these
people out there risking picking up this, sometimes deathly virus, for us - to
allow some of the world at least to keep moving. Hopefully after this
there will be no such thing as a low skilled worker. These are the people
coming to our rescue today.
And, of course, all the amazing
people working for the NHS and Care System from the doctors, nurses and carers
to the porters, receptionists and cleaners. These people put themselves
at the highest risk of contracting this virus and although we know for some
they only experience mild symptoms, for others this simply is not the
case. It seems the more ill the patient the higher the strain of the
virus they spread, which may be why we are losing some of our front line
medical staff at an alarming rate. Yet, despite having families, hopes,
dreams and goals of their own they get up every day and go out to serve the
public, strangers who need help at this moment in time. We should never
forget their sacrifice and I hope we never do.
So, if you are struggling with
isolation and have the option to be in the safety of your own home, with your
immediate family around you then you are one of the lucky ones. Feeling
grateful to all those people putting themselves out there for us is something
we should feel immense gratitude for and if you feel this way, believe me, you
will cope with isolation. This is only taking away our freedom for a very
short period of time, we must remember that. Use the time you have wisely
because you are unlikely to have the opportunity again to hit the pause
button. Read, write, watch great films, draw, colour in, clean, organise
those cupboards, exercise, talk, sleep, phone old friends, FaceTime your loved ones, enjoy your garden if you are lucky
enough to have one - just enjoy the time you have been given here because
before you know it we will all be back in the rat race (and complaining about
that). We cannot always control what happens to us but we can control how
we respond.
