Lemons into Lemonade: my top five upsides of social isolation

Posted on 29 April, 2020

Making lemonade out of the truckload of lemons that COVID has given us might seem like a steep order, says Jo Pybus. But there are little wins to be celebrated nonetheless.

Months into this global pandemic I find myself thinking about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs—how we’ve all been stripped back to the basics of human necessities such as shelter, food, warmth and safety (in Maslow’s defence Netflix and Tik Tok weren’t around in the 1940s when he developed his “Theory of Human Motivation”).

I’m at Stage 3 of my own theory, we’ll call it “Social Isolation Self-Actualisation”, as we now become accustomed to living with COVID-19.

Being attracted to the incentive of a flattening curve rather than begrudging the repression of my liberties, I was a quick adapter to walking with only one other and River Dancing down the grocery aisles with my arms firmly glued to my sides.

My initial heightened fear of germs and over-washing my cracked hands have calmed, and my home has found its new groove with all members present and accounted for.

We have been fortunate to have our wider family and friends healthy to date. We’ve had to accommodate returning family, make space for those who still have jobs to work from home and help those who don’t. Gratefully our worst fears have not been realised and my mind can now regain control of my runaway thoughts whilst we are rewarded for our compliance with a cautiously optimistic graph.

Progressing to Stage 4 of my “Social Isolation Self-Actualisation” is experiencing the delightful consequences of staying at home, social isolation, and the limiting of available activities.

Whilst I don’t mean to discount, and I acknowledge with sadness, the many for whom the consequences of this pandemic are much more dire than mine, we need to allow ourselves the indulgence of making lemonade from this s#!t-load of lemons life has delivered.

I decided to ask friends to share with me what unintended upsides of social isolation they’ve experienced, and my unscientific study of a very narrow demographic has yielded what I hope you see as unsurprising results already being experienced in your world.

The top five upsides of social isolation

Family Time: It’s like you’ve all been very naughty, you are all grounded, and your punishment is to stay home every day and play Monopoly, eat like royalty, and every night is dessert night. Even the pets are happier—their humans are home!

DIY: That list you’ve been meaning to get to for years is now getting ticked off.  The hardware stores have more crowd control than the toilet paper aisle at the supermarket.

Cooking—up a storm! That room in your house with the shiny benches, some of which get hot when you turn those knobs, is finally getting a solid workout. We have gone from 15-minute pasta and sauce to the indulgent slow cooking experiences of roasts, cakes and artisan bread.

Decreased expenses: Whilst our grocery bills are climbing, they are more than subsidised by the things we aren’t buying like petrol, meals out, movies and that bar tab.

Exercise: You want to interact with others outside your home? You better be prepared to move. I cannot contain my delight at how many people I’ve seen out walking, running, riding, especially family groups.

Beyond these obvious upsides to our current situation, there were other themes shared with me by my lovely friends, some more subtle and others profound.

Social Anxiety/Vanity: Everyone’s latest selfie is sitting on their couch. Who’d have thought the humble couch would be our great equaliser and how great we look without our backdrops and war paint?

Politeness and Gratitude: People are being polite at the shops, learning the names of their neighbours, and are grateful for what they have as the white-noise of a busier life has given way to the silence of reflection.

Creativity: We are knitting, baking, music-making! We are singing and being so very, very funny.

Time: We are slowing down indulging in the luxury of reading, meditating and ordering our thoughts.

Enforced Respite: People challenged by loss and health before all this, are noting their appreciation of this quieter time to grieve, heal and reflect.

During this enforced respite from our fast-paced lives, I wonder if you might take a moment to reflect upon Maslow’s pyramid and ponder what is needed to reach his highest level of self-fulfilment.

Will it have to wait until you are unrestrained? Or, is it finally happening right now?