Social distancing is the practice of keeping your distance from others and avoiding social gatherings in order to reduce the risk of infection.
Health officials have been recommending social distancing as a way to flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus. COVID-19, the virus which originated from Wuhan, China, has quickly spread all over the globe, forcing the World Health Organization to declare it as a global pandemic.
COVID-19’s status as a global pandemic has forced schools to move into virtual classrooms, rather than continue with in-person lectures. For university students, the drastic change comes in the middle of the school year, though the transition to online classrooms was pretty easy for some.
Cassandra Earle, a second-year journalism student, and fellow Her Campus Ryerson member, was surprised to discover that online classes were not as bad as she anticipated.
“I prefer going to school in person and definitely miss it but I had very low expectations for online classes,” she said. “I was happily surprised to see that it was better than I anticipated.”
For Earle, “fear of the unknown” is the most difficult part of social distancing.
“We don’t know when things will get back to ‘normal,’ when we’ll be able to see our friends and family again and when people will start getting better after being sick,” she said.
Spending too much time alone can be daunting and trigger worry for some.
Kashaf Siddique, a third-year business management student, has felt increased anxiety with the whole situation.
“My anxiety is higher than usual since I’m home alone all day with my thoughts and I keep reading the news about COVID-19 which is more negative than it is positive,” she said.
One of her greatest concerns is that people who are sick and need time to recover, like herself, are being overlooked. On top of recovering from an undiagnosed sickness, Siddique has found it difficult to follow some university protocol, for example, getting a doctor’s note amid the COVID-19 situation.
Obtaining a doctor’s note, she said, is a struggle because most clinics are trying to maintain minimal contact with patients and it can be hard to find a doctor willing to see you.
“I missed a deadline for my university assignment because I was sick to the point that I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed,” she said.
Siddique’s grade almost ended up suffering when her professor said they had to deduct 10 per cent from the late assignment if she couldn’t get a doctor’s note.
“At a time like this, it’s bizarre that I have to go out of my way and request a doctor for a doctor’s note when I might actually need to stay in isolation since I was showing symptoms of COVID-19,” she said.
The CDC website has a list of ways to help manage the stress of this pandemic. They suggest taking breaks from the news, taking care of your body, and connecting with others.
They urge anyone who is feeling overwhelmed with emotions or feel as if they will cause harm to themselves and others to reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Disaster Distress Helpline.
Just because people have to refrain from in-person social gatherings does not mean that they cannot gather virtually. Social media apps like WhatsApp or FaceTime have been able to help people stay connected.
Earle believes that staying in touch with loved ones and keeping structure in your days are essential to getting through the distancing period.
Boredom is not a factor for students like Earle and Siddique who are taking this time to catch up on school work. Both Earle and Siddique are also keeping a positive mindset to help them cope.
“I’m a very busy and motivated person but when you have all this time to yourself and only so much you can do with it, you start to get creative,” Earle said. “I’ve started editing videos again and diving back into art forms I love.”
As for Siddique, she believes that this could be a blessing in disguise. “It’s given me time to work on my cooking, mental health and other hobbies before everything gets crazy again,” she said.
Siddique’s advice for everyone practicing social distancing: “take this time as an opportunity to work on yourself.”