This Is How Quarantine Improved My Quality Of Life
A silver lining in wide-spread self-isolation


The pandemic has been stressful, scary, and broken my heart more than once. Yet, my quality of life has vastly improved, and I’m not the only one.

Ten years ago, I received a severe back injury while playing on the playground with my son. Since then, walking has been a struggle for me. The excruciating pain was debilitating.

Because of my injury, I use a mobility aid called a rollator to walk. It helps a lot in — fact, it’s been a lifesaver. It makes it so I can keep balance while I walk and gives me a place to sit when I need a break. However, it doesn’t alleviate the pain — that will be with me for the rest of my life.
I didn’t realize that fear is a valid reason to choose the safety of a familiar environment.

Family Burden
My doctors also diagnosed me with C-PTSD, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. There are good days and bad. On the good days, my mental health gives me the strength to struggle with my pain and go out. However, I will often stay at home anyway because I don’t want to be a burden to my family.
It’s a never-ending cycle of guilt!
My family is supportive and loving. However, taking me with them means they have to adjust everything they do around my disability. Sometimes I go out and spend the day sitting in the car. It’s nice to take a break from these four walls and breath in the fresh air and sunshine. However, this dampens the mood for my family because they dislike leaving me in the car.

To sum it up — I feel guilty for being a burden and for making my family feel guilty — which only makes them feel more guilty! It’s a never-ending cycle of guilt!
So, I stay home a lot.

Social Media
Social media has been my primary source of social activity for a long time. For most people, it’s a way to pass the time. For people like me who have severe mental and physical issues, it’s often the only way that we can reach out to people. Now that quarantine is the norm, we all reach out to each other this way!

Fear And Shame
I used to think that I lived in a different world — a secret place that I needed to hide. The public’s reaction to quarantine made me realize that I was never alone. Hundreds of people like me spent much of their lives at home, suffering quietly.
We were ashamed because we didn’t realize that fear is a valid reason to choose the safety of a familiar environment.

At this moment in time, it’s not only socially acceptable but socially conscious to stay at home. I’m not happy that everyone has to stay at home. I don’t want that for people at all. I want everyone to be able to go outside again and see their friends and hug their mom.

Is It Worth It?
Is the price of COVID-19 — especially the loss of lives — worth the quality of life now available to me? Most emphatically not! It’s disheartening that it took a pandemic for myself, and others like me, to receive the current level of help and acceptance available.
I’m lucky to live in the age of social media. I’m blessed to have family and friends who reach out to me and are there for me despite my many difficulties.

This small moment in history has given me a chance to tell my story and be understood. I hope when people go back to their normal lives, they will remember those of us that will never have that option.

When You Feel Alone
VeryWellMind shared these great ideas to help stave loneliness during the quarantine;
- Call someone on the telephone
- Place calls using video chat services like Facetime or Zoom
- Post on social media or respond to other’s posts on social media
- Stay in touch by texting or instant messenger
- Joining and participating in Facebook groups about topics you are interested in
- Sign up for online forums about your hobbies or interests
- Join and play Multiplayer games such as Wordfeud
- Sign up for online sports games like Fantasy Football
- Join QuarantineChat, a service expressly set up to help people connect during the quarantine
- Give yourself a foot massage or use a foot spa
- Take a bath
- Focus on your pet
- Cook healthy comfort food
- Watch favorite TV shows or read favorite books
- Have a cup of herbal tea
- Light scented candles

Resources
¹ https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-cope-with-loneliness-during-coronavirus-4799661
² https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/topics/loneliness-isolation