Why Lockdown 2.0 is so much harder

For those of us living in the greater Melbourne area of Victoria we recently had our Covid-19 silver lining decimated in the form of what many are referring to as Lockdown 2.0. Our silver lining which was pubs and restaurants reopening, weekends away, freedom of travel and socialising face-to-face now resembles a dark storm cloud. And don’t start me on home schooling!

In speaking with many people over the past week the return to restrictions has hit them hard and it seems harder than the first time around. People are struggling.

It’s a personal thing, but for most there are many reasons for this:

It’s a big setback

Setbacks are never nice and when you feel like you’ve done the hard work and made progress to be sent back to what feels like the very start can be demoralising. Like a footballer that does their knee a second time. They know the rehab is going to be hard, there will be times of loneliness away from your teammates and no one can reassure you 100% that you won't do it again! It’s a heavy psychological blow.

It was hard work the first time

It will be hard work again this time. Whatever you do for work, whatever your family configuration or your living situation it’s hard work. A lot harder for some than others but I haven’t come across anyone doing it easy.

It is lonely

We miss our friends and our family. We witness our friends and family missing their friends and family. Younger children don’t really understand why they can’t play with their friends or go and see Granny and Grandpa. And we feel bad about that.

Fatigue has set in

The hard work, the distant support network, the irregular work hours are draining. Most hadn’t regained their strength from the first time around so now for many fatigued has set it.

We’re not all in this together.

With many parts of the country having returned to near normal it certainly seems very unfair. At least the first time around we were all pretty much going through the same thing at the same time. But now we have friends, family, colleagues or random social media influencers going about their lives pretty normally while we look on enviously. ‘What do you mean you had friends over to celebrate your birthday? And they hugged you? That’s outrageous!"

‘What do you mean you had friends over to celebrate your birthday?

And they hugged you? That’s outrageous!"

It’s likely that every person in lockdown will experience some or all of these at various times, to varying degrees. 

Let’s call it for what it is. IT SUCKS! There’s no escaping that.

However let’s look at some facts. We got through the first lockdown by adopting a range of coping techniques and I feel like people have forgotten this. When we were faced with the first lockdown we sprang into action by:

• Organising online events such as cocktail parties, book groups, movie nights etc;
• Checking in on friends and neighbours. In filling their bucket we filled our own;
• Working hard to stay positive for the benefit of those around us and ourselves;
• Stepping up our physical activity by doing activities such as PT Zoom sessions, plotting marathon courses around the perimeter of the house and online Zumba classes.

We did it once. And we can do it again. And if 6 weeks becomes more, then we respond to our new normal. Consciously. Not by just letting this virus push us around but by taking as much control of the situation and outcome as we can. For the benefit of ourselves, family friends and the whole community.

"Consciously"

MASKS ON PEOPLE AND FORWARD WE MARCH! 

Someone close to me emailed me this feedback on my post. I thought it was worth sharing:

Thanks for the article! 

Big setback: I do feel let down by Victorians who are not doing the right thing. Particularly when, I and those immediately around me are complying regardless of the toll on our lives. Are other's not receiving the message? Do they not understand? It seems that the concept of common sense and ones 'civil duty' has lost it's value and the monetary penalties are tokenistic. 

It was hard work the first time: I accepted the first time as being a pandemic which was out of our hands … however the defiance and stupidity of many Victorian's has much to do with why we now have 2.0. I am not naturally a cranky person, however this gets my goat. 

It is lonely: I live on my own and miss human touch. Hugs have always been magic to me, I even secretly rate each one, LOL!

Fatigue has set in … I'm over zooming on my own watching other families gathered together on the screen.

"We're not all in this together" … I know many never felt we were as it has touched our lives so differently. 

Famous people on TV kept telling us in their advertising packages that "we're all in this together", their influence only goes so far. We live in a class system. The view of the world from the same suburb will always be very different depending upon where you sit economically not to mention unique challenges which people individually face in their life. 

Though one's ability to shift their attitude has much to do with it accepting / adjusting to change too.

Note: There has been very little content on ABC and mainstream TV/radio stations to support individuals on being proactive with their mental health and ideas on how to manage issues resulting from the extended lockdown. 

A friend rang up the ABC radio and suggested that "given that it is mental health week, perhaps you should balance your news on Covid with some 'good news' stories?" 

She was then asked "are you telling me how to do my job?" by the angry call recipient. 

I enjoyed your article, it acknowledged the crap whilst providing relevant and practical ideas to be proactive in this current 'warped' environment. Well balanced.