North Texas Daily

With a nationwide quarantine well underway, progressively getting more or less strict depending on the area you are in, everyone is bound to react differently. Being four to five months into a social distancing, mask-wearing, safety precaution taking time in our life, everyone has handled things in their own way. Most people, in the beginning, took the time to relax and enjoy the company of their family, friends, or partners, however, that quickly got boring for most. The productive people then went on to take up new hobbies, deep clean the house, read a few books, or even garden, as there is only so much you can do in the space of your home. While many people thrived off of the lack of schedule, obligations or interaction, others fell deep into holes of laziness and sadness due to their life being completely uprooted.

The two types of people in quarantine can be equated to many different factors, and understanding the positions of both can make it easier to support your friends and yourself during this time.

Many people pre-quarantine often spend most of their time in their house with few friends and social interactions, at peace with the solitude of their space and themselves. While on the flip side other people pre-quarantine hung out with new people every day, rarely in their home, and thrived off of new people and interactions.

For the people that often stay in or introverts, they may be having the time of their life due to the lack of interaction and joy that comes from being able to do exactly what they want. However, this does not mean they are being negatively affected in other ways, which may have become only a reality because of quarantine. Such as, being in a house with people who often leave at some point, and not only that, they are requiring more attention than normal because they do not get to see others.

This puts a lot of pressure on certain people to be the constant source of entertainment, interaction or friend that their family needs. So while they are happy to not be forced to interact with people as much through working from home or attending class online, they are put into other social interactions they are not used to. Understanding that as both parties, can help ease tension in-home, by giving those people more space or openly talking about how to combat those feelings of being overwhelmed.

While the people who are often out of the home and interacting with others or extroverts, they are having the exact opposite problem, and as quarantine goes on it gets much worse. While most people are stuck inside with at least one other person to keep them company or entertained, that often is not enough for these people as they usually have lots of friends.

Lack of social interaction at all or a large decrease from the amount one is used to will leave them with many emotions. Video or phone calls often do not replace the level of interaction a person needs, and being mainly alone or in one place for a long time can have damaging effects on a person’s mental health. Missing out on things like going out to eat, concerts, traveling, etc, while a luxury at any time, can leave a person feeling empty.

However, both sides of this scenario know how necessary and important to their own health and the health of others. While most people have been quarantining in their homes for months now with little outside interaction or trips, talking about the effects it is having during and what will happen after is important. Just because one is aware it is mandatory, their side effects on their mental health are still valid, and having an open conversation can help everyone involved. It is important when having these conversations, not belittling the virus, the policies in place to keep us safe or the people who have been affected are essential. While one’s mental health can be taking a toll for the better or the worse, discussing this with friends and family and making an effort to be there for one another in any way you can during this time is crucial to life after quarantine.

Featured Illustration: Austin Banzon