Quarantine, generally speaking, has been a primarily negative experience. Family separation, isolation and social withdrawal became the norm while life slowed to a thoroughly unenjoyable crawl. If your experience was anywhere similar to mine, you might’ve felt a bit lost – we’re not used to being locked inside, denied of going about our normal routines. The day-to-day lost meaning and came to feel monotonous.
After a few weeks of dwelling on the social deprivation and the stress, I decided it was time to find the silver-lining.
What unique opportunity did quarantine offer that I didn’t have before lock-down?
What about this time of paralysis could I take advantage of?
It took me awhile, but I finally settled on a conclusive benefit from quarantine: when (most) governments ordered their citizens inside, it forced us all to abandon our busy schedules and to spend more time with ourselves, free from external distractions. This time has been a period of much needed self-reflection, both at the individual and macro levels.
As my state has lifted lockdown measures, I’ve gradually begun to see more friends and resume my normal social routine (with modifications, obviously – open-air hangouts are always the move). We chat about how we’ve been handling the pandemic, what we’ve been doing to keep ourselves busy, different Zoom shenanigans, but we always seem to land on the topic of self-reflection.
Most everyone I talk to has experienced some form of personal growth during quarantine, whether it be deciding to attend law school, finally ending a toxic relationship or just taking the time to better understand their mental health. I would be overly generalizing to attribute this growth solely to quarantine, but I think there’s something to be said about the correlation between the significant lifestyle slow-down we’ve all experienced and our ability to address long-standing issues or sort out future plans and goals.
My friends and I aren’t the only ones who have viewed this time as an opportunity for self-reflection. Type the words “quarantine and self-growth” into Google, and you’ll be presented with hundreds of articles detailing ‘lifestyle resets’ made possible by the obligatory free time we have in lockdown.
Just take the concept of “quarentone” as an example: in a survey conducted by The New York Post, 63% of those surveyed claimed they have used quarantine as an opportunity to improve their physical fitness. The results also showed that Americans workout 25% more on average than before quarantine. On the topic of physical health, dietary experts also identify quarantine as a time to explore healthier eating habits, given that people are forced to stay home and might have more time to cook for themselves. Revamping sleep-schedules, re-evaluating time spent on devices, and investing time into mental and social well-being are also among the list of self-improvement possibilities recommended by experts that are made more attainable in lockdown.
Looking more broadly at the concept of self-reflection, I feel that our country is going through its own period of self-evaluation. Millions of protestors managed to start the most wide-reaching, diverse civil-rights protests in the history of our country. The stay-at-home order may have offered more time for people to inform themselves about the recent police-brutality related events that sparked the demonstrations and provided the space and time necessary to process such serious incidents.
The environment has also taken center stage during the pandemic. Lockdown measures around the world have been incredibly beneficial for our Earth’s health, with the positive effects on drastically decreased carbon emissions and foot-traffic being felt everywhere from Venice to Shanghai to Yosemite. Experts argue that quarantine presents an opportunity for policy makers to view first-hand what it takes to nurse our ailing environment back to health and to mitigate the impending climate crisis. Lockdown also allows for all of us to consider the broader effects of our carbon footprints and the change that could come if we altered our lifestyles to be more environmentally friendly.
I know, I know. Quarantine is not any of our ideas of a ‘good time’, but even though it might not be the most enjoyable thing to have to endure, quarantine provides us with an entirely new sense of ‘time’ and what we can do with it.
Isn’t everyone always complaining about being too busy? About our plates being too filled?
What we have right now is a reprieve from the business that used to consume our lives before lockdown. Don’t misunderstand – I’m not advocating for an extended, just-for-giggles quarantine (never, couldn’t be me), but I do think it’s important to consider the benefits that are unique to our current situation. This time locked in with ourselves might’ve been just what we all needed.
Quarantine is a time of chaos, but it’s also a time of serious reflection, re-evaluation and healing; this time is truly what you make of it, as long as you’re staying safe.