Its not as simple as just self-isolating.

As I’m sure everyone is aware, the coronavirus has somewhat taken over life right now. The small problem in China has become a very impactful, scary and confusing reality in the UK.

The advice from the government is to self-isolate, keep inside if at all possible. Its safe to say, you only realise how reliant you are on going out when its taken away (trust me I know). Ever since I stepped out of those hospital doors over a year ago now, I swore to myself I would never end up I a situation where my freedom was taken from me again. When you have you freedom take from you for any amount of time, you learn to appreciate e v e r y t h I n g again. Every bit of fresh air, meeting friends for coffee, going to the shops…

When they brought in the changes to university, to socialising; I panicked. Properly panicked, the first panic attack I’ve had for months. I was inconsolable, and luckily had my parents beside me to calm me down. My reaction was one mixed with fear, panic and dread. Fear, because it felt like my life was being taken away from me again. Panic, because when my routine changes this much and this unexpectedly, my brain effectively turns to mush and nothing makes sense. Dread, because I know first-hand the damaging effects of not going out.

This is the reality of being isolated; it starts off almost exciting. You have all this time to just chill!!! Yay!!! Netflix and sleep!!! Yay!!! For a day, maybe two. Then the boredom kicks in, the fatigue. Time because unimportant because there’s no structure holding up your day anymore, what day even is it? This is where, for me, the relief of resting quickly spirals into the start of a cycle of thoughts, and thinking, and more thoughts. It becomes self-deprecating, my head takes over, the thoughts are so loud and deafening that all I want to do is sleep to escape but I can’t sleep anymore so I’m awake and even when I do sleep its there and it all becomes so scary and loud and I can’t do anything anymore I cant think I cant sleep I cant breathe.

None of this has happened yet, apart from the panic attacks. Most of it is fear, because I know what its like to be trapped in a place when you’re not allowed out. But I know it is a very real threat of happening.

Most people go out each day, they do things each day, they may not realise they rely so heavily on their routine, they may swear they hate their job and getting up early… until it’s taken. Human beings are built for routine, some of us need it more than others. I’ve been both unlucky enough, and lucky enough, to understand how important this is; so here are a few things that are so important to try and keep on track of, to keep yourself well mentally as well as physically.

1)     Keep some sort of wake/sleep routine. I know the temptation to lie in bed all morning and stay up all night is high but keeping that day night routine is so essential. (other hospital survivors will know this famously renown notion to be called ‘sleep hygiene’ – a fancy name for going to bed on time and waking up at a sensible hour, which is such a small but crucial thing to maintain).

2)     Have a project on the go. Scrapbooking, reading a book, painting, jigsaws, writing letters to people (everyone loves getting a letter in the post), teach the dog a new trick, bake some brownies, study, learn a language, tidy your room, repaint the kitchen, sort out the loft (no one has a perfect loft!)… there is so much you can do.

3)     Keep connected. Phone your friends, your family, write people letters, facetime, skype, tag your friends in silly memes, keep that connection. Humans are programmes to function as part of a group; we need an element of connection.

4)     If you can, get outside for fresh air. Even just to stand in the garden, feel the sun on your face. Get some seeds and sow them, watch the natural beauty of growing flowers or strawberries.

5)     And please, please don’t buy into the fat-phobia that generally comes around with a period of being inside. Its exponentially difficult for anyone to hear, whether they have an eating disorder, or whether they are just trying to adjust to all the changes going on at the moment: the last thing that people should be worrying about is their weight. Don’t fat shame, don’t share fat-phobic material, don’t shame people for not getting out when that is genuinely what’s going to save lives. And the reality? You body adjusts. You won’t balloon, you won’t become lazy or fat. Your body adjusts, please trust it. It’s keeping you alive, it’s clever: trust it.

6)     Turn off the news. It gets to a point where you cannot torture yourself over what might happen. All I do is listen to the main speech from BOJO once a day… that’s all.

7)     Check on vulnerable people, whether that’s through text, or facetime, phoning or anything. Check on your elderly neighbours, or your friend who struggles with depression, or your family member with an eating disorder, or the lady down the road that’s lost her job and is looking after 3 kids… check on vulnerable people, because this will hit them hard. And keep an eye on the people that you’d consider not vulnerable. Truth is, no one has ever been in this position before. We don’t know how people will cope. So be kind, be there, and remember everyone is human. We all have the right to be treated as such.

Be kind, we are all in unknown territory which is very scary. Use this time to try something new, try to slow down… and realise the world won’t collapse in if you’re not cramming your diary for every second of the day. Learn how to be mindful (and no this isn’t just meditation!), its about slowing down to being really present in the moment. Learning to be okay with yourself when you’re stuck with yourself is hard, but not impossible, its just takes practise. You don’t need to stop living, but maybe just try and live in a different way.

A very wise person once told me ‘the opposite of wellness is boredom’, and I felt that. Keep yourselves safe. Keep busy, keep connected, and we will get through this together.