How to Beat Isolation Anxiety During Quarantine
Dopamine hits can’t sustain you forever.
Hundreds of thousands of lives have been claimed by the Novel Coronavirus. New research suggests that around 75,000 more are to follow suit, not from the disease itself, but other causes that stem from it like drug or alcohol abuse, and suicide.
These kinds of deaths, called “deaths of despair” (DOD), have already been prevalent prior to the pandemic. To no one’s surprise though, COVID-19 is adding fuel to the fire, causing a spike in the occurrence of these cases.
With high levels of unemployment, whole industries getting shut down, the loss of loved ones, widespread isolation, and loneliness — it’s apparent that this pandemic is affecting people psychologically at a large scale.
Isolation in particular, unbeknownst to many, can really mess with your brain — making you do things you otherwise wouldn’t have thought of.
For some, it’s the unearthing of bad habits that have long been buried. For others, it’s the discovery of new obsessions.
When you’re in that state, you lose boundaries over your behaviors as you desperately search for something, anything to fall back on or cling to as you escape the clutches of insanity.
Dopamine Fall-backs
Dopamine is a chemical in your body that tells you that something feels good. But too much good could be dangerous and that’s exactly what happens when someone falls into an addiction — releasing more dopamine than what your body needs.
With all this sadness and frustration going about, more and more people move towards activities that help release this chemical, giving them a ‘quick happiness boost’.
People are making that extra cup of coffee, buying that pack of cigarettes or dialing their favorite liquor store to order another bottle of Jack Daniels.
More examples include stress eating, endlessly scrolling through social media, binge-watching Netflix, self-indulging in pornography — these all dopamine hits of varying levels.
But let’s take a step back. Chances are, you’re not going to bite the dust anytime soon even if you do a good amount of these. ‘Deaths of despair’(DODs) are rather extreme cases, after all.
That said, we all know what addiction does to you at the basic level. It takes away one of the most defining characteristics of a human being with each new dose—freedom.
Sometimes, that loss of freedom could lead to a tragic and untimely death, in the case of DODs. But more often than not, it just makes someone feel like a useless piece of crap. A lose-lose situation either way.
If I were you, I would do everything I can to prevent either of those from happening.
The Time to Reinvent Yourself is Now
If you’re experiencing any form of isolation anxiety or depression, I feel you. I’ve been there myself and let me tell you — it's very real, and you’re not overreacting or being a snowflake for going through this. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
That being said, it can get really bad, real fast unless we take steps to get rid of it or at least mitigate its effects early on. Believe it or not, you have the power to change the situation.
So instead of succumbing to these dopamine-inducing indulgences for relief, I have a better suggestion — why not take this time to flip the switch instead and go full speed towards the opposite direction?
With all this time in our hands, now is the perfect opportunity to reinvent ourselves.
Not just a bandaid solution. But a habit-forming, life-changing transformation.
The following are suggested activities that you can start doing (or stop doing) now to help you to turn things around, get out of that quarantine rut and become a more effective but most importantly, happier human being.
I started doing all these myself after experiencing isolation anxiety during the early stages of lockdown. Not only did they get rid of the former, but they also awakened something within me — making me a more effective individual who’s in control of his life and enjoying every minute of it.
1. Socialize.
Human beings are social creatures and each one has his/her own needs, depending on where you are on the introvert-extrovert scale. But for everyone, it’s imperative that you socialize frequently.
Talk to someone each day whether via chat or Zoom call. If you’re living with family, strive to deepen those relationships. Converse, eat together, play games. These special moments are needed more than ever.
It’s important to note that despite social distancing, we’re all still very much connected, because of technology. So make use of that resource and keep those relationships nurtured.
If you‘re not comfortable showing vulnerability to people you know or just don’t have that many friends, there are other ways to socialize online at public Discord servers or Reddit threads. That way you can be vulnerable while maintaining anonymity.
2. Build A Skill/Start A Challenge.
We all have that one skill or discipline that we’ve always wanted to develop (In my case, it’s writing).
Whether it be learning an instrument, painting, cooking, or photography, this is the perfect time to give that another shot.
Doing this keeps your brain busy, driving you to get better at this newfound discipline or hobby while diverting focus away from anxious and depressive thoughts.
Make a commitment to work on your chosen skill every day for 30 days. This puts you into the process of developing a habit. And although it usually takes about 66 days for a habit to really stick, you can always reset and go for another 30 once you hit that first milestone.
The key is to show up each day even if you don’t feel like it.
3. Make Plans to Get Rid of Addiction.
If you developed an addiction during quarantine, you’ll want to get rid of it right away. We all know how hard they are to deal with once they’ve already taken root. Whether it be smoking, drinking, or pornography, addictions ain’t no joke.
Recognizing this and deciding to finally abandon it is the first step to the process. Coming up with an effective strategy and sticking to it is the next.
More often than not, you’ll need outside help as well and that’s perfectly fine. Just do everything you can to break away in the least amount of time possible.
4. Cut Down on Dopamine
This is somehow related to the previous item but focuses on the activities that aren’t necessarily addictions but could still be giving your brain too much dopamine hits.
These activities are, but not limited to:
- Watching Youtube
- Using Social Media
- Eating Sugar
- Watching Netflix
- Reading the News
- Playing Video Games
As you may observe, none of these are inherently bad in themselves. But if you think about it, you don’t really need them.
Cut down on your consumption by reducing the time spent on these to just 30 minutes per day. Or better yet, get rid of them entirely.
In the case of sugar, try to consume only one treat, no more than 200 calories, once a week.
Of course, dealing with these activities is going to be different for each person.
The key thing is here is that you need to identify which ones are taking away your freedom the most and double down on those.
5. Get Into an Exercise & Diet Regimen
A healthy body is fundamental to being an effective individual. For starters, you have more energy to work on your craft and enjoy life.
More importantly, you just don’t get sick very often, which is always convenient.
The type of exercise & diet regimen that you employ depends on your goals.
What’s important is that
- you’re taking in the right amount of quality calories,
- you’re sweating out those negative toxins regularly,
- and you’re giving your stressed mind an opportunity to diffuse.
6. Keep a Journal
There are tons of benefits to journaling. Countless resources on the web can tell you what these are.
The main thing to note is that through journaling regularly, you can become more comfortable with your thoughts. You get to pick out the good from the bad, improving self-awareness and perspective.
One good practice is to recall all the activities that transpired for that day by writing them down, especially the good ones. This helps you see that life is actually quite beautiful and that there’s always something to be grateful for and look forward to.
7. Get into the Habit of Seeking for Learning & Growth
“Sharpen the Saw” is the last habit in Steven Covey’s, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. And for good reason.
If you’ve started becoming more effective as a person, you’d want to keep that going forever. What better way to do that than to continuously seek improvement?
Read more books, read more articles. Listen to podcasts and audio books if reading isn’t your thing. At the same time, be selective of the material you consume. Choose only the best.
Above all, always test your learning. There’s nothing like an impactful life experience to help you learn a principle by heart.
Welcome to the ‘new normal’. Although I’m also rooting for things to go back to the way they were, I can’t deny that change is inevitable. We have to adapt, we need to take care of ourselves especially in times like these.
We need to be ready for more adversity and find a sustainable way to cope.
The fact is, these dopamine hits will only do more harm than good. The ‘temporary happiness boosts’ that they give, while helpful in some cases, are still temporary and offer no real growth.
You don’t need them.
Instead, spend your time and energy on activities that not only make you stronger against hardship and give you growth but also give you a sense of fulfillment and happiness.
