Who would have thought that this year would shut everyone inside their homes for good until the authorities find a reliable solution or cure for the Coronavirus?
The disease itself was the most significant setback for us in general. Disguised as the flu but with deadly consequences.
With that, getting away from a complete lockdown in most countries was not an option anymore. Thousands of cases were reported per day, and the death toll rising, a decision had to be made, resulting in quarantine.
Quarantining was the only possible solution for the time being, even if it brought numerous setbacks, affecting individuals’ physical and mental health and causing a substantial financial and economic dent in the economy overall.
By staying at home, we save ourselves and prevent the disease for others by breaking the chain of carriers. But it all came with a price.
Quarantine seemed like an extended vacation for some of us, sleeping in late, eating whatever we want to, streaming Hulu and Netflix all day. And we are not judging anyone, everyone has a different coping mechanism, but not everyone is privileged enough to spend their days like this.
We find different types of households in the world and various kinds of people residing together in them. For some, it’s by choice, but for the rest, they have no other options besides it. And for the latter, they usually find ways to spend maximum time away from home, and it only exists as a place to sleep at night for them, nothing more.
Such arrangements are usually seen in abusive households, where one or many residents are subjected to abuse from the other member, and to avoid it, they spend most of their time in the day away from the place, either at school, work, or with a friend.
But things are different now, and spending the weeks in a single house, with nowhere to go, no one to meet can cause a massive strain on one’s mental and physical health. Quarantining in an unhealthy environment can trigger anxiety, depression, and PTSD, which can remain in one’s life for the long term.
On the other hand, we have the socially-awkward citizens who love to remain by themselves and barely go out in general. Suddenly they are surrounded by people always, and they can’t handle the pressure they are in.
In the same scenarios, we also have people who refrain from public gatherings. Still, with the help of therapy, they are trying to open up to the mass, going out, interacting with people as a form of treatment for their isolation. The lockdown set them and their tons of hard work back until further notice; all their therapy has gone to waste, adding a negative impact on their mental health even more than before.
These are just some of the given scenarios of isolation linked to one’s mental health. But this isn’t the end. All this has triggered major physical health issues in individuals worldwide, paired with the world’s deteriorating economic condition, resulting in numerous people losing their jobs and businesses.
While some struggled to get a new job, others had difficulty getting used to working from home. Where there was no balance in their personal and professional lives—topping it off with maintaining a full household with children or older adults relying on them entirely.
All this leads to an increase in a person’s overall stress level, much more than they can tolerate. And that leads to an imbalanced diet, which can be way over the required calories intake per day, or way less, resulting in obesity or excessive weight loss.
If things take a drastic turn, it can result in substance use and alcohol consumption to counter the anxiety and stress all the workload brings. According to stats, adults showing anxiety and depression symptoms rose from 4-6% each month since May 2020.
The Aftermath
Social isolation was hard on people, but it brought on a vast positivity as countries began to relieve the restrictions imposed. But in places where things have yet to stabilize, people have taken it upon themselves to get rid of the lockdown and protests against it after suffering from it.
We understand the reasons, but taking the law into their own hand is not the solution. We patiently need to start building ourselves up with the right decisions and get back on our feet.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.