Silver Lining in Quarantining

We’re living in interesting times. Who would have thought that an invisible to the eye disease would take hold of our society — grinding it to a halt, forcing us to hunker down at home, dodging people to stay 6ft apart? I certainly didn’t. I remember frolicking on the Big Island and Maui a couple months back soaking in the sun, definitely not practicing social distancing. 2020 will forever be remembered.

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a drastic change in many of our lives particularly impacting our health and mental well being. The Bay Area was one of the first areas to issue a stay at home order on March 16th which means that residents can only go outside for essential needs such as groceries, medicine, to take care of family/friends, and to get fresh air. Since then my husband and I have been working from home. As I write this post, we’ve been under this shelter in place order for now 6 weeks.

For many especially those who are living alone or are social butterflies, quarantine is challenging. Not being able to interact with others physically has profound effects on our body and mind. Human beings are social creatures and isolation can cause many negative effects such as increase in stress and anxiety, depression, changes to our sleep patterns and even our immune systems. FaceTiming/Skyping/chatting over the phone can be helpful but the longer we stay in self-quarantine, the less technology will help us ease the negative effects of isolation.

While I’ve also experienced some of the negative emotions these last few weeks, I’ve fared pretty well. I do miss my workout classes or having small gatherings with friends locally, but I’m lucky to have my husband at home and my family lives on the other coast so I don’t see them on a regular basis anyways. If this quarantine continues for longer then I’ll get more antsy for sure.

However, there are have been many positive outcomes to come from this shelter in place.

1. No commuting to work!!!! I absolutely love not spending 2-3 hours of my day commuting. I would often get frustrated with my orderly morning routine, which would leave me no time to just be. From the time I woke up to my drive to work, I was so regimented that it left me exhausted. Instead, I’ve spent this extra time working on my side hustles. I wake up 1-1.5 hours before I have to log in for work. I take this time to drink my cup of tea leisurely while reading a book or doing some writing. I am the most productive in the mornings. I can feel myself be as calm as I can be while truly enjoying my mornings.
2. Sleep! I have been getting so much sleep these days. Like 8-9 hours every day. I wake up feeling refreshed and energized ready to take on the day. Never before have I consistently gotten so much sleep. I’ve made it a habit to sleep around 10pm every night (I know I’m like an old person but am proud of it!) and therefore wake around 6:30am feeling well rested. I can’t say enough how important sleep is for all of us and many of us don’t get enough as it is. So I’m taking full advantage of all this extra time to sleep.
3. I miss the gym the most! But I have been going for runs couple days a week. Last week I ran in the mornings before work. Before that it was during lunch. In mid march/early April when the weather was cooler, YouTube videos kept me from gaining all those baked goods calories. I am someone who needs to work out and my new routine has forced me to get outside more to exercise.
4. Walks. Walks. Walks. My husband and I were in the habit of taking walks every so often but in the last few weeks we’ve ramped that up significantly. Be gone calories! Walks are a great way to get some fresh air and connect with each other whether that be about work (my new job!) or our financial goals.
5. As an introvert who operates likes an hamster on wheels, my stress levels have been lower – much lower. Weekdays I would be stressed with my regular routine while trying to fit in a workout class or painting. Weekends were worse since I would put so much pressure on myself to cram all my personal activities. While this is my nature and no amount of self-quarantining will stop my brain from operating this way, I do have more flexibility in my schedule and all the extra time on hand helps reduce my natural tendency of stressing out. While I am not happy that local businesses are closed I am happy that I am not living my life around my gym class schedule or my other appointments. I am more free to just do what I want to do when I want to do them.

This pandemic came out of nowhere and has altered all our lives. Even when states open up and life becomes normal, it will be a “new normal.” It will take time to adjust to this new normal. While there are many negatives about this pandemic, there are silver linings. The more we reflect, the more we recognize them and appreciate them.

What are some silver linings in your life with being quarantined?