6 Ways to Stay Sane During Your Self-Isolation
How to retain your sanity during a quarantine
By now everyone’s either heard and/or been affected by COVID-19, the newest coronavirus to spread across the world. It’s an infectious disease with no known cure or vaccine as of March 26, 2020, which is why everyone’s been advised to stay inside and limit contact with other people.
It may be a simple concept, but social distancing is harder to pull off than it seems. Humans are social creatures. Not even introverts can go too long without seeing a close friend.
That’s why isolation will chip away at your sanity if you practice it for too long. Even though it’s a precautionary measure, you don’t have to be miserable while you’re doing it.
If you’re struggling with your brand new introverted lifestyle, try some of the following. Speaking as a professional introvert, these are some of the best ways to make the most out of being indoors.
1. Play a Relaxing Game
As the gaming side of the internet has pointed out, a lot of great video games came out just as COVID-19 got serious. If you own a Nintendo Switch and at least one other console, you’ve got plenty to do while you’re self-isolating.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the perfect game to play when you miss your friends. It’s a social simulator that has no real objective, but you can own a house, look after a little town, collect and sell just about anything, and more. It’s one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, and for good reason.
You could also chew through an army of demons in a game called Doom Eternal, which isn’t very relaxing, but it is fun.
Outside of games that just came out, there are so many titles that are designed to put your mind at ease. You could even just look up free games on your computer. Gamers have been entertaining themselves at home for years, so it might be time to join their ranks.
2. Learn a New Skill
Isolation has thrown a ton of schedules out of whack. It’s provided early vacations for kids, but it brought a ton of headaches with it. No one was ready for this, and it shows.
That’s why you’ve got to make the best out of every day, even if you can’t go out. A great way to do that is by learning a brand new skill.
Your new skill can be anything from a new language to a new creative activity or hobby. Teach yourself how to draw, how to take nice pictures, and so much more.
3. Read Something
I’m an author so maybe I’m biased, but if you have extra time to spend, I suggest reading.
The perfect way to take your mind off of the spreading disease is to get sucked into a good story. Reading’s also great for your brain and is a good way to ensure that you won’t get lazy or sluggish during your time spent inside.
If you can’t go to a bookstore to pick up new reading material, just search for it online. Ebooks have existed for around a decade and they’re not going anywhere. Download the Kindle app for your phone or order an E-reader online.
4. Keep in Contact With Your Friends
We may be social distancing, but you can still talk to your friends. You just have to be careful about it.
Call your friends up, or make a Discord server together. Then just talk like you usually do. Most of us were already doing that, but this is the most important time to keep in contact with them.
There are also a few websites that allow you to watch videos and movies alongside other people. Just because you can’t see each other in person doesn’t mean that you can’t spend time together.
5. Make a New Schedule
One of the biggest reasons for feeling lost right now is that your daily routine’s been interrupted. You’re missing the structure that you used to have, and you’re having difficulty replacing it. If that’s the case, then you should just plan out a new schedule.
Find new hobbies or activities to fill your day with, then make a new schedule that revolves around them. Fill up your calendar with the activities until it resembles your old routine.
Getting organized livens up any situation, so make sure to try it even if you’re adjusting well to the change. You never know how much better your life could be until you make improvements to it.
6. Get Some Exercise
Self-isolation means being alone with your thoughts. It doesn’t sound so bad at first, but over time, it becomes torture. Especially if you don’t know how to just observe your thoughts instead of getting absorbed in them.
When your head’s all clouded up, you should get some fresh air and exercise. Taking a walk has always been great for clearing and strengthening your mind, but now it’s a bit harder to do now for obvious reasons.
You’re supposed to stay home to keep yourself and others safe, and you should absolutely keep that up, but it’s also fine to take a little walk around your neighborhood as long as no one’s around.
I still ride my bike every other morning, which is fine because I never make contact with other people while I do it. Cycling and other forms of exercise are also great for strengthing your immune system so that you can fight off viruses and diseases. It won’t make you immune from COVID-19, but it can’t hurt either.
Make sure that you’re not headed to a crowded restaurant or supermarket, and exercising outside is still fine. Always wash your hands when you come back inside though.
Final Thoughts
It’s a tough time for everyone. People aren’t sure what’s going on or what to do next. Heck, we don’t even know when this is going to end. There’s a lot of chaos going on, but it’s not so bad. We can keep the pandemic under control by practicing social distancing and self-isolation.
The world wasn’t ready for something like this, but it’s not going to crumble because of it. We can make sure of that.
