Since March 2020 when the COVID 19 pandemic hit, days have sometimes been a struggle to get through. With the feeling of isolation away from people, it has mental health impact which means that people need to find their coping mechanisms. With the original rules and government guidelines back in lockdown 1 including a limit to one form of exercise a day per person, it restricted my ability to go out for walks as I had to save them for when I had to walk my dogs in the evening so I couldn’t use walks as a form to escape or get a sense of freedom. However, with my new free time that I had since A level exams were cancelled, I found I had so much more time to spend on myself, when I wasn’t helping to home school my younger brother.
Having this time gave me the ability to do things I just hadn’t had the time to do in the past year and a half with the heavy load of work from A levels and having a part time job on the side. One of these things was reading. For the first time in ages, I was able to pick up a book and enjoy it without having to analyse each individual part of it; I could just get absorbed in the story again, enjoy the characters without analysing the writers style and presentation. I reread the Shadowhunters series by Cassandra Clare, reliving my time in secondary where I spent most of my breaks with my head in a book. It felt so nice to be able to enjoy this simple activity that I genuinely just didn’t have the time for with the work I had with A levels, the revision and a part time job. After a day of work and revision or a shift, I just didn’t have the energy to read so would turn to watching Netflix.
With the amazing weather that we were graced with for the first lockdown, I had the privilege of being able to sit in the garden with my dogs and soak up the sun as I read. Honestly, it was like a dream for me. As someone who, before uni, sometimes struggled in social situations and kept to my small bubble as it was, it wasn’t much of a hit to be spending my time at home. I did miss the ability to go on long walks but, as time went on and restrictions eased, this became a possibility. I found myself growing into myself a lot of ways and discovering honestly who I was as there wasn’t the pressure of being around others socially my age who may have expectations of me. I became more positive about myself overall over time as I came to the conclusion that the only person I’m stuck with for the rest of my life was myself so I had to learn how to put up with me. Rediscovering my love for reading honestly helped with that so much as my book collections always been something I’ve prided myself on over the years.
But it wasn’t just the ability of rediscovering old loves that the first lockdown gave me: it also gave me the ability to discover new skills and hobbies. With nothing to pass the days by and only having a limit to the number of times you can have the same snack, I decided to push through with baking. Before, I did the odd bit of baking but now I had the time to try out new things. This ended with me finding out I actually was pretty good at it, especially making brownies. I found it a good stress relief and it was also amazing to see my family enjoy the results of my baking. Not only this, but the walk to the shop for ingredients honestly felt like an adventure after being stuck inside so much.
However, the second lockdown for me didn’t have as much of a positive impact for me. For the first two weeks of it, I was stuck in self isolation since my uni flat got COVID 19 after a flatmate travelled home and was suspected of getting it from the train. I found my mental health went on a spiral downward with the literal entrapment of being inside and the lack of fresh air that I was able to get. Tensions seemed to rise between those of us in the flat as well as we were sick of each other by the end, just longing for fresh air. The day I could leave to go outside for a walk honestly was the most refreshed I felt. But being on this low, it meant I had no motivation during the November lockdown. I found myself wanting to just sleep through it, the cold weather also having an impact on that as it just didn’t have the positive vibes that the sunshine and warmth of the first lockdown had. In a way of coping, I pulled myself back into my hobbies.
It definitely eased after the isolation period was over as we were able to meet with one person outside our household for exercise so I could meet my uni friends for walks, I could go in for lectures and back to work. Having the freedom to go outside and something to do other than be sat in my own room was so refreshing. After getting outside, I found myself feeling more energised and more motivated so once again got involved with baking and reading.
Whilst I can explain my love for reading being escapism and my love for baking being seeing the final product and the satisfaction of others enjoying it, I can’t explain why I enjoy listening to music so much. I find I can put on some music and then just get absorbed into it, and I honestly have no explanation for why I feel that way but its extremely common: most people share this view of music as a form of escape. If I ever needed a moment to myself or to help me focus, I would put on a playlist of music I enjoy and it would help me get through it.
This leads me to the current lockdown. Lockdown 3.0. We have no idea of when it truly will end and is affecting everyone differently. For me, I would say I’ve genuinely had a neutral impact from it. Since I am still going to work and I am close to the people I live with since I have locked down in university accommodation, it’s been a positive experience but I do miss the ability to travel home to family and go out to places. I think one thing that has helped with this lockdown for me would be I moved flats right before the lockdown was put in place so it gave me a good opportunity to get to know the people I live with and I’ve become close with them. Being in a positive environment whilst still having the ability of walks and work has felt good but I do miss the face to face contact with uni and it still feels strange only being able to talk to people over phone and video call as a way of communication.
But the thing is, we all have to try and keep a positive outlook with the lockdowns and try to keep ourselves busy with things we enjoy: always try and find something to do or it leads to boredom which leads to negativity. Keep contact high with loved ones and just know that some day we will be out of it. Find out coping mechanisms and use them to try and keep your head up – the worst thing you can do is not talk to those around you.
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