The Psychological Impact of Quarantine and ways to reduce them

With the coronavirus pandemic that have almost engulfed our entire planet, we have been presented with an epidemiological crisis of gynormous proportions.  Due to the lack of a proper cure in the form of vaccine or an antiviral treatment, this crisis is posing great threat to humankind.  The only viable option at present is to contain it and contain it good.

The preventive measure that was implied on all of us took the shape of a quarantine-like situation which has been found to be effective to curb the first wave of infection. This has also helped in providing better health care even under limited resources. With such advantages comes some shortcomings as well. The shortcomings associated with quarantine can be dubbed as the side effects of its protocol. Although quarantine is a far more extreme term which is basically applied on those who need to be put under observation for possible signs of infection. But the lockdown follows pretty similar protocols to that of quarantine which brings us to the topic of impact of quarantine on people’s psychological health. In this blog I will be stating the psychological impact of quarantine on people and the ways to reduce them.

Impact of previous quarantine

Back in 2002, when we faced similar epidemic crisis in the form of SARS, another member of the coronavirus family, certain quarantine measures proved to be effective. But along that came flooding reports of people suffering from psychological issues caused by quarantine.

SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a respiratory illness that have similar and severe symptoms to that of COVID-19. Containment protocols were put into motion and a massive number of infected people were put into quarantine. The quarantine measures proved to be effective to contain the viral spread but left the treated people with some psychological scars.

Throughout whole quarantine period that lasted around a month in various affected part of the world, quarantined individuals were told not to leave the premises of their houses, avoid any sort of family visitations, wear face masks at most times, especially when with other family members, not to share personal items and to keep washing their hands on regular and frequent basis, these were among other precautionary measures that they had to abide by. When the progress of such individuals was studied, research reports stated that these quarantined individuals have been experiencing some mental issues that ranged from immediate to short-term psychological issues.

People were reported to feel isolated from others when they were put in quarantine due to the lack of social contact and outings. They experienced a dreadful feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world as they were not allowed to indulge in day-today activities in normal manner. The idea of wearing masks all the time augmented their anxiety and loneliness as their society sort of boycotted them for being infected. Many complained they felt as if they were living the life of an inmate while in quarantine.

Moreover, due to the social isolation they were put in during quarantine, they started experiencing long-term psychological distress even after the quarantine got lifted. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety, panic attacks were common symptoms many of them complained to have developed after the quarantine phase was over.

Based on the previous experience and worldwide data collected during the past quarantines, we can mark out the psychological impact of COVID-19 quatantine.

Potential psychological impact of coronavirus quarantine

The most frustrating fact about psychological stress is that it lasts not only during the period of its onset but also around the time of one’s supposed recovery. Quarantine has proved to have various impact on people’s mental health:

• Fear
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Dejection
• Unhappiness
• Insensibility
• Insomnia
• Sleep disorders
• Irritation
• Confusion
• Exasperation
• Severe anxiety
• Emotional detachment
• Eating disorders
• Depression
• Stress
• Bad mood 
• Loneliness
• Emotional exhaustion 
• Substance abuse
• Alcohol dependency

These are some unfortunate turn of events that can be avoided by adopting healthy life style and protective measures for your mental well being while under quarantine.

How to reduce the psychological impact of quarantine

Establish a routine you can stick with

There is nothing as calming as the sense of accomplishment. Your daily routine must have changed quite a bit these days and must be the reason of your irritation. This calls for dire need of a new schedule. It is important to stick to this one because the satisfaction of accomplishment leads to happiness.

I am not going to address each and every social class, but generally dividing them into working and non-working groups will make it easier.

For working people

• If you have made arrangements to work from home, you should readjust your time table and calendar in the first place.
• Secure a suitable place in your house as your work station. Make sure it is the best place where you can get maximum focus.
• It goes without saying, complete your targets on timely manner.
• Avoid burnout. Don’t get overwhelmed with your freedom of work and end up overworking.

For non-working people

• Students, home makers, individuals who are currently out of work have the most advantage with time. You have plenty of it so make a schedule for yourself on your terms.
• Look around, you will notice certain things that need to be fixed or remodelling. Get on to them with the help of available resources.
• Break up your day into small tasks. Help your family members, especially your mother.
• It is the best time to update your resume. Jobs will be there for you after the lockdown lifts. So hang in there and stay prepared.

Stay active and keep yourself busy

It is proven that any physical inactivity even of short duration is injurious to your health, both mental and physical. It has massive adverse impact on your body’s metabolism, physiological functions and muscle mass. The feeling of being stuck inside a confined space is also very unsettling. A healthy body is the key to healthy soul and mind. Incorporate yourself into workout and enhance your fitness level.

You don’t need extensive exercise equipments or intensive workout regime to stay fit. Stay active by taking a brief walk around your house. Quarantine limits your outings not your body movements. Walk for 30 minutes every day. You can watch Youtube fitness videos. There are bunch of them available online. Go for light or your preferred bodyweight exercises. Download a fitness App and follow the workout plan mentioned there that is suitable to you.

Listen to soothing music

If something bothers you, my advice is to keep the trouble away from you by cutting off the audio. This does-not mean you should plug-in those ear-phones as soon your mom give you a chore to do! Jokes apart, what I mean is, it won’t hurt to take or two music breaks. Music has powerful tendency to alter your mood. Sad music can help you alleviate your pain while happy or rock music can augment the respective emotions. This time, I would suggest you to only listen to soothing and happy music. Music works wonders! Taking the earlier example, you can listen to music while giving a hand to your mom in the kitchen or house chores. You will see it will turn out to be less tedious this way.

Get rid of boredom

Quarantine leads to boredom, boredom leads to frustration and frustration leads to mental instability. Eliminate the root of it all by combating boredom. Find ways to stay occupied. If you have work tasks, divide them as per time and complete them one at a time. If you don’t work, assign you daily tasks which could range from house chores to something creative. There are unlimited options available. Fill your time with interesting activities, I would sugest this is the best time to hone your green thumb or gardening skills.

The joy and satisfaction of accomplishing a task is sufficient enough to revive your mental health. It provides a sense of purpose and enhances your level of competency. If you have a set of daily tasks prepared and ready, you will have something meaningful to work towards. This way you will look forward to each day with hope.

Do this every day. Make that to do list and try to complete it on time. Completion is not the key here, keeping yourself busy is.

Stay connected

I already know it is not easy to do this in person under quarantine but technology has its way around everything! Maintain your connection with your friends and relatives over social media or phone lines. Reach out to your pen pals or international friends via Facebook or Instagram. This will lessen the feeling of isolation that might tend to bother you. Join a support group or become an active member of an online talk forum to share information and spread awareness. The feeling of not being alone and knowing that there are others out there who are just like you, is a strong driving force to have a comfortable mindset. There is nothing more empowering in quarantine than the idea of having support from your people.

Other means of establishing contact:

• Spend time with your family.
• Have hearty conversation over meal.
• Ask about your friend’s well-being over phone regularly.
• Switch between different modes of communication. Chat, mail, text, video call or message them whenever you feel like it.
• Keep your friends engaged on positive conversation.
• Make a friend feel comfortable who is having a bad time. Play online games with them or have a video call.
• Social networking is beneficial now more than ever.

Fill yourself up on the accurate info

With the ongoing media circus and false journalism trends happening these days, it is easy to lose your sanity while listening to them. Staying informed is crucial but getting overwhelmed and falsely educated is a no no for sure. Knowledge anxiety is a real thing which can arise by having no or minimal access to the information and also by knowing too much! Your brain starts malfunctioning if fed with continuous info and panic inducing news. You become what you think, and if all you think is how COVID-19 is slowly reaching your doorsteps and might infect you through air, then that’s how it will turn out. Don’t overwhelm yourself with news whether correct or false. Too much is actually too much for you especially in these times.

Read only trusted sources for information about COVID-19. Refer to the government portals, WHO forums and national newspapers which has highest certificate of genuinity.  Talk to your doctor or health care providers, they are 24/7 at their job and the most trusted source of real information.

Keep reminding yourself about the importance of quarantine

This is the high time to contribute to your society. A contribution of actual worth! You can do that by reminding yourself and others why we are being quarantined. The sense of responsibility and contributing to a noble cause is rewarding in itself. Rather than being cooped up and angry at the government for keeping extending the lockdown period, remember that this is the only way to prevent the spread of this deadly disease. Think about the unfortunate immune-compromised people who will be at the mercy of this infection if it reaches them. You maintaining social distancing, is the best public service you can contribute to them at the moment.

Conclusion

Although quarantine is a necessary and the only step to contain coronavirus spread, it has given rise to certain adversities that have started affecting our mental well-being.  

Mind is a tricky thing to control, but easy to distract. Distract your brain with positive and productive routine. Read a god book, watch a new tele-vision series, spend quality time with your family and help the needy. Play your role in the sustenance of humankind.

Where we all are playing our parts, it is the government’s duty to keep the duration of the quarantine adequate. If an extension of lockdown is required, do it but at least give some relaxation to the whole period. Instead of gradually extending the lockdown, divide it in phases. A minimum quarantine period of 14 days followed by relaxation period and its continuity is considered healthy. We all have to work together to overcome this crisis.

Don’t lose your head in the process. Remember, COVID-19 quarantine is not isolation and isolation protocol is not loneliness.