COVID-19 and the impact
The UK government imposed the lockdown on the evening of Monday 23 March. The unprecedented restrictions were put in place in an effort to limit the spread of coronavirus and there have been consequences. The Mental Health Foundation and other bodies found that for many people, the impact of loneliness and isolation has been felt in respect of their mental health. Loss of structure, routine and our everyday anchors of support has also proved difficult for people to cope with. For some there has also been the sudden loss of income or worries about employment stability going forward. Overnight, diaries went out the window; planned holidays, weddings, christenings, gatherings with friends and family, First Holy Communions, birthday parties all cancelled or postponed. I learned how to use various video conferencing apps but there were so many other lessons and surprises in the weeks that have passed since lockdown commenced. As the American philosopher and education reformer John Dewey writes: We do not learn from experience we learn from reflecting on experience. In coaching we are encouraged continuously to reflect and be curious. What can you see that you couldn’t before with all the crowds, noise, bustle and distractions of what was then your normal routine? The sudden imposition of space and time to think; was your response what you thought it might be?
For the first month of lockdown I struggled. Much as I have always complained about being too busy and dreaded the rush hour commute, that is what I have known for years that was my normal Monday to Friday routine. For the first four weeks of lockdown, I consumed a vast number of calories and spent significant periods of time watching the news and comparing the narrative, searching for meaning, trying to understand what was going on. I had plenty to do to occupy myself but zero enthusiasm or desire to do any of them. The second thing to surprise me was the sudden feeling of being disconnected. There has never been a time when I couldn’t be with my friends and family all I had to do was get in the car. Suddenly that was simply not an option. Yet beyond the shock and anxiety that the virus and lockdown has wreaked, there have been magical surprises.
I discovered superstars; of course they were already there, but I hadn’t particularly noticed or really appreciated them. My son galvanised us as a family he is the one that initially set up the groups on WhatsApp, organised games and quizzes through Kahoot, performed in and shared hilarious videos through Tik Tok. He brought us together, persisting and cajoling us into participation we even had karaoke evenings. I reflect on this for two reasons; firstly we haven’t tended to come together with ease. Secretly we doubted that even the WhatsApp group would last long before the message came up: Andrew left. You know how it is; there’s a main group but various sub chat groups that we belong to, enabling a safe conversation. Well we all remained in the group, learned when it wasn’t appropriate to contribute to the discussion and genuinely laughed together – a lot. When all the joking was over and we all felt more settled, serious engagement began.
I gained wonderful new insights into the values that my adult children hold, saw great parenting and teaching. In essence I found a new respect and got to like them on a deeper level. I learned a great deal about their allegiances and past hurts, both as the government grappled with handling the coronavirus response but also the disproportionate impact on BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities and then came the horrific death of George Floyd. These events have opened up conversations we have not had previously as a family; so much that was left unspoken and unshared. I experienced new profound conversations, acts of kindness and generosity from family, friends, neighbours and colleagues; things that moved me. Did you get to know anyone in a different way? Learn something new about them? Was there something or someone that you had perhaps overlooked or failed to appreciate in the past. Or perhaps because we were all so quiet, this was their chance to shine. What did you learn about yourself? How will you take this learning into the future?
This pandemic has already dramatically changed the way we live our lives: the way we work, rest and play. Eleven weeks after lockdown was imposed, society has already started to reopen, but what will the new world look like? We are shifting from lockdown but into an era of what is being called the new normal.
Social distancing, mandatory face masks on public transport, reduced classroom sizes and working from home are just some of the new normal measures that will stay with us for quite some time to come. But before we embrace this next phase, let’s take a breath. What were your experiences over recent weeks?
What were your surprises?