If like me you live in Greater Sydney, midnight tonight marks the end of a 15 week lockdown. Though excited to make the most of my new found freedom, I still feel a sense of apprehensiveness.
If you have read any of my previous blogs you will be aware that I work in a large retirement village, which has heightened my level of cautiousness. I am doubly vaccinated and have been for some time, yet I have still been getting regular covid tests for my own peace of mind. The vast majority (90%+) of the residents living in the village are fully vaccinated now, with most excited and enthusiastic to start enjoying a life surrounded by family and friends again.
In The Beginning
The very first cases of covid-19 were reported in China in December 2019 and by the end of January 2020 there were reports from countries around the globe. I feel very fortunate to have just returned to Australia on 24th January after a month long stay in the UK with family. I don’t recall hearing anything on the news during that time; returning to Sydney oblivious to what was unfolding.
The day after we returned from the UK (25th January) was the date of the first recorded case of covid in NSW, which when I look back, was incredible timing for our trip. As a country, Australia has remained relatively unscathed and the government has handled the outbreak well, limiting transmission pretty successfully. Vaccination rates are now such that we can enjoy some freedom again. Though I think it is reasonable to be cautious as we are emerging from lockdown in to an environment that still carries risk and uncertainty.
I feel grateful that I had the opportunity to see loved ones before covid changed everything. I have some wonderful memories to treasure. We have all missed out on so much in the last couple of years. Personally, I lost my grandad who I loved dearly, an auntie and missed my brother-in-law’s wedding, all of which ordinarily we would have returned to the UK for. I’m sure that many of you reading this article can relate. Even if you were not affected by overseas travel; 5km radius’ and limited capacities meant that many occasions went uncelebrated. Now that lockdown is coming to a close, it may be nice to take the time to celebrate and recognise all the life events that were negatively impacted due to covid.
People Move at 2 Speeds
There appears to be two different speeds at which people approach resuming ‘normal life’. There are those that are raring to go and lockdown couldn’t end soon enough. Then there are those that feel anxious and will take a little longer. Whichever type you are try to be considerate and accepting of others as we have all experienced covid differently.
If you are one of the super excited people that will be popping open a bottle of champagne to celebrate at midnight, enjoy. If however you feel overwhelmed, remember to be kind to yourself and take things slowly.
Amy Cuddy, best selling author and Harvard Social Psychologist refers to what she terms ‘Pandemic Flux Syndrome‘. She says that after living with a flux of mixed signals about covid related health threats and unpredictable changes for the last 2 years it is expected that we would experience spikes in anxiety, depression and blunted emotions.
We have all adjusted and settled in to lockdown life, whether we have enjoyed it or not. Personally I have appreciated the time spent with my family and the slower pace of life. In a few short weeks my children will be back at school and I will be juggling full time work, school pick-ups and all the extracurricular activities that we have in the calendar. I think it will take some time to return to our normal routine. I feel tired just thinking about all of the running around that is about to ensue.
Easing Back in to Life
Here are some suggestions for easing back in to life:
- Be prepared to be tired. After months of the quiet life and couch time the ‘honeymoon period’ before finding a ‘new normal’ is likely to feel exhausting. People are keen to see their family and friends and I imagine there will be much time spent socialising after such a long period of abstinence.
- If you do not feel ready to face large crowds and overwhelming stimuli do not rush yourself. Take things slowly, make your own boundaries and only do what you feel comfortable with.
- Recognise and accept that humans are prone to overestimating how good or bad they feel about positive or negative life events. In other words: we may think that we will never recover from this pandemic, but the reality is that we have strong psychological immune systems and we will. Learn to challenge those unhelpful thoughts (read more on this from Amy Cuddy).
- If you feel unmotivated or that you have lost your sense of control, remind yourself that you have access to your internal power and focus on what you can control, for example, mindfulness, self care and exercise.
- See lockdown as having been an opportunity to learn more about yourself and how you want to live your life. Even if you have not made any lifechanging decisions during lockdown, you may have come to realise what is most important to you, for example, spending more time with loved ones and checking in more regularly. The thing I, and I’m sure many others, have learned to realise is the value of face to face interaction. Make time to appreciate and prioritise what matters in your relationships as we move forward.
- If you have developed positive routines during lockdown, for example morning walks, try and maintain them as we emerge.
- If necessary talk to someone about your lockdown anxieties or read my article ‘Mental Health Check‘ for some tips on self management of anxiety.
- Acknowledge that we are all traumatised and grieving to some extent. Industries have been decimated and people have lost their livelihoods, freedoms and in some cases loved ones to covid. Time will hopefully heal, but in the meantime be empathetic of others.
I recently wrote a post about spreading kindness; not because you expect something in return, but because you know that people need it. This is a sentiment that I hope we can all take forward with us as we emerge from lockdown. Enjoy your freedom (at your own pace of course).
