I read an
interesting article this morning when I opened up my computer — “Lockdown
was supposed to be an introvert’s paradise. It’s not” by Abby Ohlheiser in
online Technology Review. It speaks of this lockdown and social isolation we
are all experiencing with COVID-19. Introverts feel relieved. Finally! They
love social isolation and are good at it and yet they have always been
criticized for it and pressured into being more socially active. Suddenly we
are all in the same boat, stuck at home.
Ohlheiser says, “[A]s people began to adjust to isolation, they started to
find ways to bring their outside social lives into their homes.
People are coping with the coronavirus pandemic by upending their lives and
attempting to virtually re-create what they lost. The new version, however,
only vaguely resembles what we left behind . . . The result, for introverts,
extroverts, and everyone in between, is the bizarre feeling of being socially
overwhelmed despite the fact that we’re staying as far away from each other as
we can.”
I know I have experienced this. I am an extrovert and have always been on the
go, attending a workout class or club, taking a workshop, and visiting family
and friends. When I was suddenly thrust into my own home with nowhere to go, I
found instant relief on the Internet. In one day, I took part in a Sound Bath
Get-Together, sat with others for a short meditation, took an online dance
session, and that night attended an online Slam Poetry session, as well as
chatting it up with family and friends on both my telephone and video chat. In
between I could cruise through Facebook and my e-mail catching others comments,
jokes, memes, games, poetry and online journals or virtually wander through a
museum or art gallery. If that wasn’t enough, I could Netflix binge or watch
the constant stream of media attention on the latest coronavirus news
worldwide.
I was able to do it for one day. It was overwhelming. I realized I had replaced
my busy life with a virtual one, one that wasn’t at all like the real thing. So
I began to read, write, cook, and clean. Now I go outside for long walks with
my camera in hand, carefully taking into consideration government bylaws and
suggestions as they change daily, practising six foot social distancing,
washing my hands and changing clothes when I return to my own home.
It is difficult adjusting to this isolated virtual world. We have been told by
the experts that this could go on for 1 1/2 to 2 years. If it does, we all will
be changed. Let us hold on to our humanity, be aware of loving and caring for
our small circles, those most important to us, and finding healthy connections
wherever we find them through nature and other life-building activities. All
the best to you. Someday this will end.