Well, if you are here from the future, I am writing this in 2020, the world has collapsed because of a virus (search coronavirus) that spreads faster than the fire, and it has spread to all corners of the world bringing down the medical infrastructure, and forcing governments to enforce isolation and physical distancing, not-so-fondly called “the lockdown”.
The short and honest answer, “it has been devastating.”
Here is how it went:
We are a family of 3, mom, dad, and me, and both my parents work, which leaves me with the entire house to myself and we all love our personal spaces and hate when it is invaded.
This lockdown forced us to stay together, adding to it, my grandparents and a cousin had come to visit us when the lockdown was announced, so they ended up staying with us for the entire duration.
The space that I used to have all for myself was now shared between 6 people, and that was a major change for me.
And the kind of person that I am, I am used to taking strolls, spending time at cafes or at beaches, being confined to one location was not helping my mental state.
Adding to it, this isolation made it impossible for me to meet my then-girlfriend and communication was a different challenge altogether.
I was about to graduate in a month or so when the lockdown was announced, the university didn’t know how to handle the situation and kept postponing the exams, fuelling my exam anxiety.
Gyms were shut and I couldn’t even cycle, so my physical fitness was going down the drain, I wasn’t making any gains but I still had my weight under control.
Most businesses were badly affected and two of my clients had defaulted on payments and I was pretty low on cash, and I didn’t know what was the next step to my career.
All of this led to me being depressed, thankfully my then-girlfriend helped me navigate through these rough times, I had multiple outbursts on the people I love the most, and after weeks of feeling sick, I was on the way to recovery.
Recovery:
Soon, the lockdown restrictions of intra-state travel opened up and my grandparents and cousin left for home, that was definitely a big relief, I truly love them, but I need my space.
I and my girlfriend figured out a way to communicate and stay connected, we discovered the video chat feature, which really helped.
I realized that it was a bad time for business and applied for an internship and took up a small freelance project.
By this time, a lot of restrictions were lifted, like it was now allowed to take visit the markets for essentials, and I used to fake walk till the pharmacy and keep some random meds in the pocket (just in case).
The recovery was slow but I was recovering, I had an agenda to every day and I had things to look up to, had started focusing on health again, and was taking steps to ensure mental and physical fitness.
After Lockdown :
While I write this on the 13th of September 2020, coronavirus is still prevailing and a lot more aggressive than before, governments have been forced to relax the lockdowns to revive economies.
Lockdowns have opened up, but coronavirus is till ruining life and prosperity.
A lot happened between the time of lockdown opening up and today, I quit the internship, I picked up a job, had a breakup, got depressed (again) and I am glad I am still surviving, from both, the coronavirus and depression.
But I know we will make it through.
