Recently I had to isolate for two weeks along with my wife, five year old son, and one year old dog which was quite the experience!
As someone that has had to isolate due to COVID, I wanted to share my experience and advice around coping with the difficulties that it brings.
Recently I had to isolate for two weeks along with my wife, five year old son, and one year old dog which was quite the experience! Being stuck in the house with no physical link to the outside world was a challenge but by taking one day at a time and keeping yourself both physically and mentally stimulated makes it all the more manageable.
Things that helped….
Simple activities really helped, walking/running in the garden with my son and dog helped to reduce stress and feel more energised
Online fitness videos, there are a number of you tube videos that promote being active during these challenging times, obviously Joe Wicks is probably the one that most people will have heard of.
Gaming – My son loves to play his Nintendo Switch and gets me to join in on occasion and this is something that stimulates the mind and helps you forget about isolating for a short time.
Eating healthily – It would have been easy to spend the two weeks in isolation eating junk food as reward for having to sacrifice an existence outside of my home but instead I decided that I would look to be as healthy as possible and eat a well balanced diet which would also have a positive impact on my wellbeing. I also found out that by being an Amazon Prime member I could get groceries delivered from Morrison’s the same day which was really useful as a lot of the other stores had limited delivery slots. I think most students will have an Amazon prime account and this is something that could be really helpful.
Talking also helped, not only with my wife, son, and on occasion dog, but using Teams/Zoom to make contact with friends and family to talk about what we were going through and receiving words of support and encouragement. I also had three separate phone calls from the NHS track and trace to check on how we were coping with isolation and if we needed any help with shopping, picking up medication, or even dog walking so there is support available via the NHS if needed.
Isolation was a challenge, but it was made easier by the above. Having a positive attitude, being active and talking to others as much as possible made the time not only go quicker but also a lot more manageable.
Anton Orlandi, Sports Participation Coordinator