How to prevent loneliness in times of Lock down and Social Distancing?

"How to prevent loneliness in times of Lock down and Social Distancing?"

By:- Pratyush Kumar Shekhar   Email:- shekharofficial311@gmail.com

 We have a long war to face ahead and the major thing is that we can win this only if we stay at home. I know how it feels when you are having a very busy life and suddenly there is a full-stop to your routine for a long time.With increasing numbers of people isolated because of quarantine and social distancing, COVID-19 is not the only public health threat we should be worried about—loneliness is one as well. 

While scientists are rushing to understand how the corona virus works, researchers have long understood the toll that social isolation and loneliness take on the body. People who do not feel connected to others are more likely to catch a cold, experience depression, develop heart disease, have lower cognitive function and live a shorter life. In fact, the long-term harm caused by loneliness is similar to smoking or obesity. This may sound unfamiliar but in these days you need to take proper care of yourself and also of your family.

Although isolation is the right response to the corona virus pandemic, we need the exact opposite in response to the loneliness epidemic. So how can you cultivate your social well-being while avoiding infection? Just watching Netflix and doing chill is not a option for all of us. 

So just like me if you are feeling lonely you can do these simple life tricks to overcome this boredom and loneliness.

1.Face-to-face from afar: The best thing to in-person interaction is video chat, because facial cues, body language and other nonverbal forms of communication are important for bonding. When possible, opt for video over messaging or calling and play around with doing what you would normally do with others. Try this out with your friends, relatives who are far from you.

2.Bring an old hobby back to life: It's much more difficult to feel lonely if you're actively enjoying an activity, especially one that you have some skill or practice with. If you've got a hobby that you love or are interested in, set aside some time each day to work on starting it up (again). Whenever are hit with those pangs of loneliness, make a conscious effort to go spend time on your hobby. 

3.Do regular exercise:- In the period of lock down, when you have to stay fit both physically and mentally.Doing Yoga, meditation  and paranayama will help you to

find the lost self in you. If you make this a habit it will not only help you in this time but also in time when you may develop mental stress and all. Also make a daily routine of it.

4. Give a read to a book:- I have always considered books as my "best friends". So whenever you feel like there is nothing to do just give read to the books around you. Doesn't matter whether it is class 2nd or 3rd or a graduate one. You can learn a lot from it. Also try to read some biography and self-help books. Learn from the life of those great leaders,saints and all.

5. Make you bed in the morning:-Making your bed in the morning, and doing a quick two-minute wipe down in your kitchen at night, will make you feel better and in control of your life. Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, says her research for the book revealed that bed making is one of the keystone habit of happy person. Also try to clean up all the mess that you create everyday in your rooms.

6. Look through old photos and albums:- We are having such a lifestyle that we are always worried about the future. We don't have a moment for the current world,so forget about the past. So when you just have a look on our old childhood or family album, you will find a moment of surprises and smile on your face. You will think how stupid and naughty I was in my childhood. This will give you energy for the future life.This moments you will never find. Try to collect those moments with your family. In case if you are not having family albums go through your Facebook account. 

7. Master one skill:- Some of you might have started to learn some skills but some of you must have not. Try to learn any skill in these days. No matter whether it is web development, graphical designing,blogging or any thing else. There are several platform on which you can learn it for free like YouTube, Coursera,Udacity,Edx etc. I will give the link of the pages at the end of the blog.

8. Try to write Dairy-Entry everyday:- This may sound silly but when you will write a dairy entry on how you survived the lock down, and further read it in the future it will make you happy. You can share this with your friends. It will be a great fun  to read other experiences.

Also just thank the 5 persons that made you pass the day without felling lonely. 

9. Watch the inspirational TED TALKS:-Ted Talks are inspiring and informative. I don’t know why, but watching a few Ted Talks really help when I feel lonely and helpless.This will definitely help you. You can also watch other motivational movies and videos.

Link for learning coding for free:- https://makeawebsitehub.com/learn-to-code-for-free/

Link for TED TALKS and other motivational videos:-https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector