The psychological stages of the lockdown and key systemic changes needed post-COVID (aka #52)

Image taken from Nathan Wood Consulting on the Kübler-Ross model of The Five Stages of Grief

The stages of lockdown is similar to grief, which I am summarising in 3 stages below:

Stage 1 — Denial/anger: In the beginning, we were all in a state of shock, trying to assess the situation, mostly feeling angry that this has happened to us (the lockdown, the number of infected cases and deaths). In this stage, I kept checking the news, trying to be up to figure out what we can do from BBC to the various new channels and information from WhatsApp — some of the information were not verified and it was tiring to understand what is real and what isn’t. This was also the stage that I replaced my denied-social interaction with online catch ups where I could ascertain how family and friends are feeling, particularly those who are living alone. I was doing 4–6 catch ups a days with family and friends using every platform possible including Zoom, Skype, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and Houseparty! In the beginning, it was good to continue having the social connections, however the number of meetings meant it was exhausting.

Stage 2 — Depression: I understand that I can’t influence the situation and therefore took some time to reflect on what is causing this energy drain every week. I decided to do a few things that would help me take stock of the situation:

• Trying to understand the different issues that are impacting us and how we can help, both from work perspective and social perspective;
• Trying different approaches to replace normal activities, i.e., new exercise routine — there are a few good ones including yoga online, exercise with Joe Wicks and many other apps that were offering free classes for 30 days!; and
• Limiting my interactions over the weekend due to having online fatigue. This BBC article describes how we can reduce ‘zoom fatigue’.

Stage 3 — Acceptance: This is the stage where I started developing new habits in the lockdown over things that I could control, by creating a routine. Main things I have adopted are 1) limiting myself from checking the news and only tuning in to the 10pm BBC news; 2) creating time for exercise everyday at a set time to take advantage of the sun; 3) set dinner time, with an approach of trying out new recipes to improve my culinary skills; 4) setting time for entertainment (movie/books) and 5) scheduling time for catch ups but having limit to the number of hours spent on catch ups over the weekend (being comfortable with saying no). I’ve also started thinking more about the world post-COVID and how we prepare ourselves for the new normal:

More working remotely: Those who can/able to work remotely should continue to do so and limit travelling into work to enable space on the public transport for those who have to travel to work. Some companies are already planning to limit days in which different teams can come into the office to allow sufficient space for appropriate social distancing.

Travelling mode: I worry there may be increased usage of personal vehicles as people are concerned with using public transport. Of course we would welcome more bicycles, but more cars on the road will not be good for the environment and will quickly reverse all the emissions reduction over the last 5–6 weeks.

Change in the way we approach provision and consumption of goods and services:

• Restaurants/eateries/bars may not have a return to normal immediately. Due to social distancing, restaurants may be able to only operate at half the capacity. Does this mean increase in prices for eating out?
• Gyms may not have the same number of customers, as people may be comfortable working out at home or avoiding a crowded indoor space.
• High street retailers may struggle to maintain their businesses as most business will move online.
• There may be a spike of the need of hairdressers immediately when the lockdown ends, but some people may have discovered new ways of grooming that is cheaper and may stick to that.
• Travel pattern will change as discussed in the article last week. However, there is a whole implication on the industry. For example, would people lose trust about renting on airbnb in strangers’ houses? Airlines such as Easyjet has announced that the middle seats of planes will be left empty (good news for space, bad news as prices will spike).

I would like to end the article with a few structural changes that we should consider:

1. New metric of success: We have been reliant on growth based on GDP in the last century. It is time to rethink if this is the best approach to defining success of a nation as it ignores how the money within the country is divvied up. This article gives some food for thought.
2. Universal healthcare: We’ve seen all around the world that universal healthcare is the approach taken, even in the most capitalist nations. Therefore, there is an argument for universal healthcare provision — would the healthcare be overhauled post-COVID? This article examines how the pandemic will leave a mark on the US healthcare.
3. Flattening the climate curve: We now know how when there is a will, there is a way. The governments’ actions all around the world proves this. Climate is a known threat to humanity and every year the number of deaths from climate related disasters keep on climbing, but no clear action is taken. This World Economic Forum article highlights how we can flatten the climate curve post Covid.