Self Isolation One More Week? Coping Techniques to Help with Loneliness

All the self-isolation from COVID-19 has been pushing most people to the psychological limit. As social beings, we HAVE TO be around others. It’s torture to be alone – and doesn’t take long before loneliness sets in

In fact, scientists are now saying that one of the most important impacts on longevity is actually a socialization activity. We wither up and die mentally without socialization. Or die an early death from loneliness. Self-isolation and quarantines are difficult!

But don’t worry! Being cooped up in your house for another week or two is not going to mean you’ll be dying early.

Re-Arrange Your Life Priorities to Avoid Loneliness

On the other hand, this downtime can help you regroup. It can help you rearrange your priorities. As you spend time alone, your brain will begin to see things differently and prune out what is no longer needed.

You may have discovered during this COVID quarantine that:

• People are more important than your list of things to do.
• Your family members really have changed since you created an image of who they are. They’re better than you thought.
• Work really shouldn’t be your #1 priority in life.
• You have more time to spend on your health.
• You see new solutions for problems you didn’t see before.

What Will Be Your Answer?

To deal with the loneliness, you have to look ahead at what’s to come. Dwelling on loneliness doesn’t have any rewards… but looking ahead to the future does.

When it’s time to emerge from this quarantine, people are going to ask each other one question:  What did you do during the quarantine? Books will be written on new thought leaders who came up with unusual ways to deal with the quarantine – and how they stayed afloat financially during the whole time. For example, one German baker started baking cakes in the shape of toilet paper rolls. The first few days he sold 8 of them. Then he was up to 80 per day. Then his bakery was selling 200 a day, and the recent count is 800 per day. He hired a few extra workers and saved their families from financial ruin.

Thinking about loneliness is thinking about you. It’s self-centered. Be like the baker. Think about brightening up someone else’s existence. Be one of the new emerging thought leaders. The quarantine and self-isolation will soon be over.

Will You Get a Pet? Or Pay More Attention to Your Pets?

Now obviously, there’s a lot of ways you can interpret this wisdom. Let’s say you’re already at home a lot of the time due to medical conditions. Is there a pet you can get that will take your mind off yourself? Pets have a way of engaging us that we can’t even fathom. They will always come up with something new to make us laugh.

Adopting a dog from the pound may not be the answer for someone who’s bedridden. But it may be the answer for families with small children that need something and someone to hang out with every minute they are awake.

Will You Do Healthy Things?

Exercising indoors is always something positive to start as long as you’re not jumping off the bed! With all the exercise routines on the internet, there are many choices. Your ‘story’ of what you did during the quarantine could be you carved out a new body!

Maybe you can revamp your diet. The recipes you eat day in and day out. Maybe you can replace alcoholic drinks with healthier versions. Watch videos on chocolate making (the healthy way).

You Can Still Be Social

Reach out and connect to others. You still have to be social. Whether you begin writing letters or just picking up the phone, talk to people you haven’t talked to for a decade or two. Catch up on their lives. Offer some support.

Make a List and Cross Things Off Each Day

Structure your day. Many people make a list of 10 things to do and then cross them off as the items are finished. This takes your mind off yourself and puts it on success.

If you don’t have many things on your list, consider that maybe there’s a project you have wanted to finish like cleaning the garage. Now is the time; when are you ever going to do it in the future when the quarantine is over?

What about any of these:

• starting an art class or singing class
• starting a hobby that you have wanted to do your whole life
• helping someone write the stories of their life
• training your dog to do something unusual
• planting flowers or herbs in the yard or for a neighbor
• starting a social group or podcast
• joining a few social groups
• getting healthier
• making a point to get 20 minutes of sunshine a day for vitamin D
• learning more about your spouse – things you never knew
• creating some new games for the kids to outwit them
• get fit, start exercising at home, YouTube has a huge amount of content

See self-isolation is time you’re spending in your cave – or your kitchen. You don’t have to deal with loneliness during the quarantine! You’re simply too busy!

Where to from here?

Naturopathy treats physical ailments but also addresses some of the more common conditions we suffer anxiety, depression, insomnia, stress, and fatigue. To feel truly healthy, it’s to balance the mind, body, and soul.

To book an appointment with Lindsay,  book now or email me on lindsay@sanatio.com.au

Learn more about Naturopathy