Some of the world is starting to emerge from quarantine, while others are head back into it because of reopening too soon (thanks Texas). But while healthy people get to go back to their regularly scheduled lives, people with chronic illness or disabilities are being left behind. It’s still too dangerous for anyone with health problems to emerge from their homes completely, luckily people with chronic illness are already pros at this being stuck at home thing. So here’s how chronic illness has prepared people with chronic illness for life in quarantine.
1. You already have all the stay at home lounge wear
- yoga pants check
- slippers check
- Pajamas check
- mens basketball shorts check
- comfy socks check
- bra thrown away a long time ago
2. You know how to stay home, feel lonely, and not go crazy
As much as you would prefer to be healthy and out and about, you’ve learned to be comfortable in staying home. You know to look for the small things that bring you joy, and not focus on the worst case scenario.
3. Half your friends are online anyway
Since you’re used to being stuck in bed you spend half your life online. Between twitter, facebook, and chronic illness groups you have a bunch of friends who can support you and be supported by you right from your bedroom. You don’t have to see people face to face to feel fulfilled.
4. You already have the take out menus from your favorite restaurants
No need to consult the internet, you’ve been ordering take out for years and you already know all the best places.
5. You know how to live with uncertainty
When you have a chronic illness nothing ever stays the same. Some days you feel better and some days you feel worse, that’s just the way it goes. With a chronic illness you have to learn to be okay with uncertainty, otherwise you’ll be very unhappy. You just learn to enjoy the good moments, and take the bad moments as they come.
6. You buy everything online anyway
Going to the store takes so much energy, you long ago learned how and where to buy everything online. You and Amazon prime became friends a long long time ago. You never had to worry about toilet paper (aff link), because you already get it on subscribe and save every month.
7. You’re a pro at dealing with boredom and stress at the same time
You’ve already explored yoga, meditation, adult coloring (aff link) etc. so you know what to do when you feel bored and stressed. Those are such unique emotions to have together so many people don’t know what to do.
8. You’re not delusional about the odds of getting sick
You’ve been let down by the odds before. Maybe you were young when you got sick, or were diagnosed with a super rare disease, but you’ve had bad things happen to you before. That’s why you know to take Covid 19 seriously. You know that not only could you face death, you could also face long term disability, and you know how the medical system handles that (spoiler alert, not well).
This post is somewhat tongue and cheek, but healthy people can really learn something from people with chronic illness and disabilities. The hope is as healthy people are allowed back into the world they won’t forget their quarantine experience and how hard it was. Now many people know exactly what being stuck at home is like, and hopefully they’ll have more empathy for those with chronic illness.
How do you feel chronic illness prepared you for life in quarantine?
Hah yep, so true! It’s not all that different, but I do feel things have become far more stressful, time consuming and generally difficult. I also really, really miss not having to thoroughly clean everything before putting it away because shopping trips are exhausting enough, and they’ve become more time-intensive during these last few months. I get home and I’m beyond exhausted and in agony, then I need to shower (you know, wash the virus off..) and I’m so close to crying each time. The rest of it, not so different. We’ve already become accustomed to being indoors, to the stress it can cause, to working from home, losing social life, and all of that. Yes to it all, except the one about 50% of friends being online. I think 99.9% of mine are online ?
Caz xx
You’re so right, shopping is way more stressful than it used to be. Even just leaving the house is stressful now!
Ah yes! Definitely not delusional about getting sick! And yes love how you state that we have our lounge wear all set up and it’s definitely very comfortable. Really enjoyed reading this post – a good reminder 🙂
One of the comments I’ve actually heard from bloggers I know who talk about chronic illnesses is that the reality able-bodied people are experiencing in quarantine is in many ways similar to the reality some with different types of chronic illnesses face daily.
Had to share this on Pinterest and Twitter, too. It’s right on. Lockdown life is sadly, the regular for most of us with chronic illness.
Yes, to everything. We are professional at this, aren’t we? It’s just life to us. At some point in the future, other people will find a new normal. It won’t change for us.