Take Control of Your Own Quarantine

Well, we are only 3 days into the official stay at home order. Things started shutting down probably around the weekend of the 13th though. By the middle of that week, restaurants were closed by 3. Now, most restaurants in my area (We don’t really have but a couple to begin with) are closed altogether.

People with certain health profiles (which applies to every single member of my household) or over a certain age (which applies to my husband as our doctor’s office told us that that age is 50) are being told only to leave their home for absolute necessities or emergencies. With a heavy emphasis on leaning toward the emergency side.

I joked when this all started that as an agoraphobic introvert with autism who leaves the house only to go to the doctor and to go to church, I had been training for this all of my life. I have worked from home for just shy of 20 years at this point… My university is online. Even my daughter attends an online charter school so this is not affecting her education at least.

You know what? I was so dead wrong. Yes, the things above are true. But this is so desperately different. Before I at least had the option. Being at home all the time was a choice. Now my choices have been taken away. And that isn’t okay with me. I am bothered, I am annoyed. I am cranky.

I feel like a prisoner in my own home. And I have felt like this before. When I Was trapped in fear after 9/11. That’s what this feels like to me. There are people on my friends’ list who aren’t even old enough to remember that. That blows my mind.

But this has the same feel to it to me. We are being trapped not by the virus itself, but by the fear. For those who think that this could have been an act of bioterrorism, the bigger act of terrorism is this second wave, the fear. Because that’s where it counts. That’s what is really going to destroy the people, the economy, our basic infrastructure. People being trapped in fear.

We are the only ones who can decide if we want to live in fear or not. We can change our attitudes. We can change our mindset. We can shift our emotions.

We may still not be able to leave our homes, but we can change our surroundings. Change the lighting or the way the furniture is arranged. Sleep in a different room for a night, one with a bigger window so you can see the stars.

Get up in the morning, get dressed and put on your makeup just like you would if you were going into the office. Whether you are working remotely, on furlough, or laid off, this is going to make a huge difference in how you feel. Remember, the outside affects the inside. If you need to change how you feel on the inside, begin by changing your outside. It works every time.

Take control of your own quarantine. Don’t let anyone else tell you how to be you during this time. After all, it may be a while.