āMy cat, Daisy, has started getting a few gentlemen callers to the house. She has no interest in any of them but I tried to explain this to one of them. I call him Silken Thomas.ā
āThis human emotion, love, itās a dangerous thing, Picard. And obviously youāre ill-equipped to handle it. Sheās found a vulnerability in you. A vulnerability Iāve been looking for for years. If I had known sooner, I would have appeared as a female.ā
Iāve seen a lot of people joking about how theyāve been training for self isolation all their lives. That being an introvert has somehow prepared them for this situation. Iām sure most people expressing that are mostly joking, but I just want to make sure no one has a false sense of security. Isolation is difficult no matter what kind of āvert you are. I donāt say that to scare anyone. I just want people to prepare themselves appropriately.Ā
There are a few things you can do to keep from getting cabin fever. From my experience, I feel the three big ones are structure, diverse activities, and socializing.Ā
Keep a regular schedule. Waking up and going to sleep at the same time, eating at the same timeā¦ anything you can do to keep a loose structure to your day.Ā
Plan ahead. Donāt just wing what you will do in the moment. Even if it is just binging a TV showā¦ plan for it. Pick out a couple of options ahead of time in case you donāt like the show. Make a big olā list of movies, TVs, and books. Maybe rank them in order of what you are most excited to watch. Extra points for color-coded spreadsheets. There is a great website called JustWatch that will tell you where any TV show or movie is available to stream.
If you are physically able, plan more active things too. There are a lot of streaming exercise programs popping up. Yoga and jazzercise and the thigh master. (I havenāt been able to exercise in 2 decades so my references are dated.) Hiking is good if you know an isolated spot. Put that into your schedule as well.Ā āFriday afternoonā is much better thanĀ āIāll try to do that at some point.ā Youāll have a better chance of sticking to it.Ā
Donāt do chores when you feel like. Designate a laundry day. A cleaning day. A food prep day.Ā
Plan some hobby activities if you can. Build legos. Knit a sweater. Learn piano. Try not to do just one thing all the time or you will get bored of it. Even if you watch the 100 greatest movies of all time, that can get old.Ā
The more diverse you can keep your activities, the longer you can distract and occupy your mind. You cannot think about heavy, tragic things 100% of the time. Give yourself a break from that.Ā
And finally, even if you are the most introverted introvert of all timeā¦ you need a human connection every once in a while. Video chat with family and friends. Phone calls do not work as well. Being able to see their face and feel like they are there is vital. I talk to Delling and Katrina once a week and that seems to keep the loneliness tolerable. Plus visits with my parents upstairs and some playtime with Otis. Youāll have to figure out what youāre comfortable with. You may need less socializing than I do. But you absolutely positively need to talk to someoneĀ āface to faceā on a regular basis. Please trust me on this.Ā
Things are going to be rough for a while. But Iāve been isolated like this for 20 years. It is manageable if you give it time. Donāt ever be afraid to ask for help when you need it. And try to lean on loved ones when things get hard. And let them lean on you when they need help.Ā