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Self-isolation and mental health

The last couple of weeks have been tough on everyone, there's no doubt about it. 

With thousands dying around the world, businesses forced to close and people being let go from work, there's been a lot of fear and worry in the air, and understandably so. 

Even if you're one of the lucky ones, I'm sure you still had to go through some major changes in order to adjust to this current situation. 

This is why I thought I would jump on here quickly to spread some positivity around self-isolation as well as tell you about my experience of it - because I definitely found the whole thing tough at the start!

How it began...

I have a weak immune system and deal with older family members regularly so it was a no-brainer for me to start self-isolating quite early on. Thankfully, my workplace decided to let us work from home over a week ago and, over the last 11 days, I barely left the house, with the exception of a few walks around my area or the weekly shop. 

At the start, I was feeling a little anxious. I didn't know what was coming and how to adjust. But as the days progressed and I learned more about what was happening, I realized how important it was for me to stay home - not just for my sake, but for my loved ones, and I accepted this as my life right now.

What I learned through this...

I still get lonely and bored, I still feel like I'm wasting time when I should be getting out there, seeing friends, having fun, attending workshops and doing all the things I used to do before this quarantine, but there is one thing I learned through this. 

I realised that I was moving too quickly. I took too much on with work & outside of it. I often felt sick, sleep-deprived and drank more coffee than I felt was safe for me. 

With this current situation, I learned to find more time for myself. The virus forced me to give myself a break that I would probably not take if it were purely up to me. I put this time towards rest and reflection (as dull as it sounds, it really did help me a lot!). 

Once I began seeing the good in this crappy situation, I focused on putting time towards my health, mental & physical. I developed an amazing exercise routine, finally became a vegetarian and started moving towards veganism (a long-held plan of mine that never fully came to fruition because I chose to focus on the wrong things).

I know there are only so many books you can read or ways you can rearrange your room (would highly recommend it by the way, it feels extremely refreshing), but my advice would be to use this time on personal growth! It truly is the best investment so stay home and stay strong. Everything else can wait.

How have you been dealing with self-isolation? Is it being taken seriously where you are? Let me know in the comments!

- Paula
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