No toilet roll panic buying. No home-schooling (so far). This second lockdown is looking up already.
Other than hastily replacing Child 1’s ‘rule of six’ compliant birthday party with a Covid secure McDonald’s drive through birthday meal, this second lockdown doesn’t seem to be as painful to adjust to as the first lockdown earlier this year.
Unfortunately, we might face more lockdowns after this one. How do we adjust to and cope with this looming prospect? I think that one coping mechanism might be to actively detach ourselves from the anguish and frustration that come with these recurring restrictions on our freedom.
This approach aligns with my views on jogging as a form of exercise. I’ve never been a fan of jogging and, after persevering for a number of years, I’m still not that good at it. However, it is a cost effective and time flexible way of exercising – so I keep doing it. My jogging routine has become so ingrained that I barely notice when I’m running these days. I more or less jog the same route each time after dropping off the kids at school. I jog past the same set of dog walkers, postmen, ramblers etc. and saying hello to each of them has become part of my exercise routine.
Sometimes, I wonder if I should challenge myself by doing a longer jog or trying out different routes or terrains, but I haven’t had the urge to do so. I’ve essentially found comfort in routine and expectation.
So going back to the original question – how can we cope with the prospect of future lockdowns? I think that it is possible to desensitise ourselves from the sacrifices that we must all make in order to reduce the pace at which Covid-19 is spreading. It’s about finding the right coping mechanisms to get us through this time.
