The numerous lockdown restrictions that we have faced for the past year have affected all of us in many ways. Being socially isolated from loved ones and friends, for such a long period of time has led to many people feeling incredibly lonely. I know that I am not the only one who has suffered from loneliness at some point during lockdown. It is not just those who live alone that feel this way either as loneliness is common among everyone; you do not have to be physically alone to feel lonely.
Fortunately, some people are offering services and activities for people to take part in, to try and tackle this issue. Here are two examples:
Mena Dickson
Mena (@cragyoga on Instagram) is a trainee yoga teacher who offers beginner friendly classes via Zoom. During the first lockdown, when she was lonely at uni, she started to do yoga by herself as she found it “relaxing and therapeutic.” She then hosted yoga classes for her friends, before deciding to offer classes to everyone in the further lockdowns we had. She felt that there was “little to do, little support and a little sense of community,” which is why she wanted to offer the classes to everyone- yoga helped her in a time when she was lonely, and she wanted to do the same for others.
Mena hopes that her classes offer:
- An opportunity for people to meet others that they would never normally meet.
- A sense of community
- A sense of routine, as well as something to look forward to.
Ella Stewart
Ella Stewart, founder of the social enterprise Bake Well being (@Bakewellbeing on Instagram), started a virtual baking club at the beginning of this year: The Well-being bakers club. The idea behind this club was “to build a community during these difficult times,” when people are “feeling really disconnected” from others, by encouraging people to participate in the activity of baking. In terms of loneliness, Ella wanted to “use the technology that we have in a positive way, to try and connect people to each other… as well as support each other in a peer-support type way.”
Additionally, the Well-being bakers club (and the Bake Well being enterprise as a whole) aims to help people to protect their mental health too. The club offers its members well-being resources, to learn more about their mental health and wellbeing, which they then talk about in monthly ‘tea and talk’ sessions.
Ella hopes that her club will:
- Establish a community
- Challenge people
- Teach people about their mental health
- Encourage them to prioritise their well-being
- Inspire people to try something new
I also spoke to a relationship expert, Cheryl Muir to get a deeper understanding of why lockdown loneliness is occurring.
She stated, “[lockdown] has shaken our built-in need for security, safety and certainty. We have never seen changes like this before, and to see these changes occur simultaneously in countries throughout the world has shaken us to our core.”
In terms of loneliness, she explained “there is no substitute for the one-to-one in-person connection with those we love. We’re wired for connection. Our survival has always depended on being with others and, in comparison, our technology is new. We haven’t adapted to receive love through screens. As a result, we feel lonelier than ever.”
To overcome this feeling, Cheryl suggests that we look at what “causes, activities or hobbies” we are interested in, or find something that we have “always wanted to try” and establish a “community through shared interests.”
She acknowledges that while there are restrictions currently in place that stop us from meeting people and joining groups physically, we can “get to know people and hit the ground running” through joining groups online (such as yoga classes or a baking club as mentioned above).
She echoes the sentiment that although we would benefit more from socialising in person, virtual groups and activities are the best thing that we can participate in, right now, to tackle lockdown loneliness.
If you’d like to talk to someone anonymously, here are some resources:
Words By: Tamikka Reid
Edited By: Yasmine Moro Virion