Loneliness plagues Athens during coronavirus

Shelter in place and social distancing have caused Athens residents to suffer from a lack of human connection.

By Megan Peta

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused people to suffer from loneliness in the midst of social distancing. Without social interaction, people in affected communities are learning how to cope on their own, as they’ll have to continue their isolation.

On April 8, Governor Brian Kemp extended Georgia’s shelter in place order until April 30 to continue slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Local businesses across Athens have closed their doors. Residents halls remain empty, and the campus is unusually quiet. Among the silence of the Classic City are local residents who are suffering from the loneliness of social isolation.

Grace Garrett, a fourth year entertainment media studies major at the University of Georgia, has three roommates she lives with but has not left her house in a month except to buy groceries or take walks down her street.

She has taken on hobbies to fill the time, but nonetheless said it has been difficult to remove herself from her friends and family.

Isolation can be a dark place for her.

“I think as someone who’s already introverted it’s easy for me to kind of crawl back into the shell of my room and be like okay i’m not talking to anyone,” Garrett said.

Garrett described ways she is trying to keep in contact with people like Facetime and writing letters, but she says it cannot replace the feeling of in-person human connection.

Kaitlyn Shepard, an assistant director of student affairs at the University of Georgia , has a different perspective on her time in isolation.

Shepard is optimistic. She has challenged herself to be more intentional with her relationships even during this “scary time to survive.”

While some have used time to develop hobbies, like Garrett or build relationships like Shepard, many are haunted by the empty time to fill during social distancing.

Will Panter, a third year music education major at the University of Georgia, has been grappling with the distancing and suffering from lack of motivation and confusion.

“I felt kind of out of touch. I feel like people don’t really exist anymore,” Panter said

Panter has been using his time to think about major decisions in his life, and has ended up questioning his plans for the future career. He describes it as “spiraling.”

Studies show loneliness can lead to psychological and even physical trauma. The things that those under shelter in place order are feelings are real and valid.

Although the eerie silence of a once bustling town is heartbreaking and confusing, there is hope for what is to come after this for the Athens community

“The quiet is scary,” says Panter, “but it will make it all worth it to see Bulldog Nation reunited when the time comes.”