“COVID brain” is a real thing: some people with COVID-19 report a brain fog for months after their diagnosis. So it’s not exactly correct to use that phrase to describe what I’m currently experiencing. Let’s call it “isolation fog.”
In the last couple weeks in particular, I’ve noticed pants and sweaters fit a little looser; I’ve experienced a massive inability to focus on readings and finite details; I’ve lived with a memory loss that’s bordering on concerning and a dark depression that’s, frankly, a pain in the ass. After a decade of living with the latter, it’s fair to say that it hasn’t been caused by this isolation, but lockdown life certainly hasn’t made that aspect any easier.
Indeed, all of these are telltale signs of long-term social isolation. A new study done by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan found, among other things, that university students’ “already poor” diets worsened significantly during the pandemic and that alcohol intake rose significantly. Other changes—for example, sedentary lifestyles and a decrease in employment—were also of concern.
Taking this into account along with what I spoke about in last week’s editorial, it’s clearly time to take control. I wish I could write, “It’s time for change!” but the reality is that provincial health officer Bonnie Henry isn’t going to lift restrictions because they’re starting to be unhealthy and worrisome for people. The government is mainly focused on keeping hospitals from getting overwhelmed. Everything else they address as a side note in press briefings, sure, but the reality is that they’re afterthoughts. They have to be.
That means it’s our responsibility to go for a run and eat an apple afterwards even though what you might want to do is have three shots of Jameson and pass out in that lovely ratty old housecoat hanging on the back of the door while binge-watching The Good Place.
There’s a lot about this place that isn’t good. When the pandemic first began I said that I had nothing to offer Camosun students except rations of resilience. Looking back, I knew at the time that those rations weren’t needed just yet because we were all still in shock, but a time would come when they would be needed.
Even though another week gone is another week closer to the beginning of a new and better post-pandemic life, the time for those rations has come. And that’s still all I can really say.