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When I started out to write this blog post, the focus was meant to be on the importance of community and social interaction for long-term health. Community is something Impact Kitchen has always had a huge focus on: it’s something we’ve strived to build with our team, with our customers, with local businesses. It’s why we started Impact Everyday. It’s why we started Impact Nation. We know loneliness is linked to depression, cognitive decline and poor sleep quality (source). Initially, this post was going to encourage us to band together, and spend more time with our community. There were going to be numbers and facts, such as: social isolation increases early mortality, it elevates health risks as much as smoking, and that it’s twice as harmful as obesity for mental and physical health (source). It was going to encourage us to all get outside and hold hands with our neighbours. It was going to be magical. And then coronavirus happened.
And suddenly, overnight, the advice was to stay home. To practice social distancing. To practice isolation. Suddenly this post seemed a little out of place, because now, the healthiest thing we can do for our community, is stay away from it. The healthiest thing we can do for ourselves, is to be alone. Funny how things work out sometimes.
So why write this post at all? Isn’t it irrelevant?
Actually, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that we need community more than ever. And that these efforts–these global efforts–are how we’re showing up for our community. This is how we protect the people we love. We flatten the curve. We stay inside. When you think about it, it’s actually really incredible: the entire planet is coming together to keep to themselves. When has that ever happened? When has information ever been able to move so quickly and have such dramatic effects?
We’re seeing a lot of interesting things result from this: pollution is going down in isolated areas, financial stress is very real, people are reaching out to help their elderly neighbours, and a lot of us are feeling discomfort with having to be alone. Especially if you were struggling with loneliness and solitude before this–it may feel incredibly heightened right now.So with that said, here are ways you can build your community while you isolate. Because now, more than ever, we’re craving connection.
Whether it’s a conference call (click here to see how you do it), Zoom or Google Hangouts, there are so many ways to get together as a collective from the comfort of your own home. Plan a morning coffee date with some friends where you all wear your PJs and drink coffee together. (Or you can all share a virtual meal together.)
Of course Netflix wasn’t going to let us forget them. You can still Netflix + chill while social distancing. Download Netflix Party so you can synchronize movie watching with your friends and have a live video chat you can write into. (Perhaps a Zombie apocalypse movie marathon?)
If the gym closing has you down, no need to sweat–or is there? (See what I did there?) There are so many online workouts you can do (for free, to boot!) and right now so many Influencers are sharing free workouts on Instagram Live, so that you can work out in a community setting and have a little more social interaction.
Some favourites to check out:LiftForme FitnessFuel Training Club SWATElle Fitness StudiosBodyLove Inc (BOLO)(Are you offering free workouts on Instagram right now? Let us know and we’ll add you as a resource!)
They may be feeling extra isolated right now as this is a scarier time for them to leave their home. Make sure you’re calling in or going over if you can. Show them how to use FaceTime if they don’t know and schedule in check-in every few days. Technology really is our friend right now.
The same goes with your friends that live on their own, that are single, or that are freelance. They’re probably feeling both the emotional and financial stress of being home a lot harder than those who have two incomes or live with family/roommates. Start a group chat with your friend group to keep everyone in touch (and slightly annoyed that it’s buzzing every 30 seconds). Or call your friend while you both do laundry. There are lots of ways to connect to people even if there’s physical distance between you.
Yes, this post is about community, but this is also one of the few times we’ll ever truly have so much alone time. Try to sit with that, and really prioritize self-care. Now might be a great time to pursue a passion, to get some reading done, or maybe to do nothing at all. Find ways to explore this discomfort of being with just yourself.
While alone time can be great, it can also be, obviously, lonely. Create a routine where you have scheduled time with friends and family (trying one of the above suggestions!) as well as scheduled alone time. Try to have a plan for the day to avoid feeling lost or helpless as we go through these oncoming weeks. This will be temporary, things will turn around–and all we can do is make the most of it.
