Why Escapism Is Essential During A Lockdown
If you knew you were going to be stuck on a Desert Island all alone, what top 3 things would you make sure you had with you? These are the types of silly questions me and my friends used to ask each other all the time when we were younger. I think mine were always the same each time; Chocolate, my phone and the complete series of Harry Potter books (yes, I do count the complete series and one item and yes, I do now realise a phone would be a pretty pointless item to have with you on a Desert Island 😝). And now that we in Jersey are completing our second week in lockdown, it made me think that had someone asked me beforehand to pick three things to make sure I had at home with me when stuck there for the foreseeable future, what would I say?
I'm tempted to say that none of my answers would change. I've always been a massive chocolate lover and crave it most when I don't have it. But I fear I'd come out of this lockdown looking like Violet Beauregard from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, particularly as a pair of dumbells are certainly not going to appear on the list! As for my phone, a week ago I probably would have said yes, however thanks to my charger breaking last week leaving me without a phone for the past 7 days, I've found myself feeling more relaxed, so that has to come off as well. Which leads me to my third choice: Books. I've loved reading ever since I was about 6 years old. I remember so vividly when I was a child, feeling like each time I opened a book, I was being sucked into the pages, absorbed in a completely different world from my own. It was what made books feel like magic to me. If I'd had a bad day, felt upset or stressed, I would reach for a book and love that feeling of pure escapism I would get. So when I found myself stuck indoors, with no phone and no chocolate to console me, I reached for a book!
This new, restricted lifestyle we all find ourselves in can be particularly scary and worrying for everyone. It doesn't matter what type of person you are. If you're an introvert by nature then I guess staying in and staying away from social areas is not too unusual, but the thought of having to go outside for essentials such as shopping and exercise and passing others, even with a 2-metre distance can be even more daunting. If you're an extrovert, then having to stay in and being told that you're not allowed to socialise with others can be terrifying, the thought of being cut off and isolated. Either way, we are all being forced to spend more time at home and the advice out there is that as much as we should all be making ourselves aware of the seriousness of our current situation, we should be careful to not spend too much time watching the news, reading comments on social media and surrounding our home with negativity. Now, this can be a tall ask in a 21st-century home, and if you're like me then you've already had more than one moment of pulling at your hair wishing you could just escape everything for just a while, and step into a world without COVID-19?
At the moment when I'm finding the real world all a bit too much, I've been taking myself off to the early 6th century in Arthurian Britain and surrounding myself with the likes of Arthur, Merlin and Lancelot. Before that, I visited the more modern age of the late 20th Century in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Not the most optimistic place to escape to I'll admit but it was a sobering reminder that there have been many other devasting hard times placed upon people in the past and actually made me quite grateful for all I do have during this pandemic (the book was Milkman by Anna Burns and you can find my review of the book on this blog 👆.)
I honestly think escaping from things every now and again is healthy. Our lives run so fast and so constant normally and all of a sudden everything has come to a standstill and we are all being made to slow down and whilst I think this is a very good thing all around and a positive to come out of an awful situation, it has left a lot of people feeling very anxious, paranoid and unsettled. And whilst watching TV can relax some, the great thing about books is that they don't skip to Ad breaks every 15 minutes where you are given constant coronavirus updates or news bulletins. Yes, keep up to date with the progress of Coronavirus, but do it once a day. The rest of the day, keep yourself busy and if all starts to get a bit too much....take yourself off to a nice comfy armchair, or a warm bubble bath or even your bed and escape to absolutely anywhere you fancy!
If I was told before lockdown I had to pick three things I wanted to have with me...I'd have run straight to the nearest bookshop or library and picked three books: Harry Potter Series (Childhood Fave), Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell (one of my fave authors as an adult) and The Green Mile by Stephen King (Such a classic!!).
So now it's my turn to ask you: If you could bring three books with you to read during a lockdown...what would they be? Which fictional world or past era would you escape to? Please comment below and let me know 😊.
🙏Stay Safe 📚Stay Home💪 Stay Strong
I'm tempted to say that none of my answers would change. I've always been a massive chocolate lover and crave it most when I don't have it. But I fear I'd come out of this lockdown looking like Violet Beauregard from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, particularly as a pair of dumbells are certainly not going to appear on the list! As for my phone, a week ago I probably would have said yes, however thanks to my charger breaking last week leaving me without a phone for the past 7 days, I've found myself feeling more relaxed, so that has to come off as well. Which leads me to my third choice: Books. I've loved reading ever since I was about 6 years old. I remember so vividly when I was a child, feeling like each time I opened a book, I was being sucked into the pages, absorbed in a completely different world from my own. It was what made books feel like magic to me. If I'd had a bad day, felt upset or stressed, I would reach for a book and love that feeling of pure escapism I would get. So when I found myself stuck indoors, with no phone and no chocolate to console me, I reached for a book!
This new, restricted lifestyle we all find ourselves in can be particularly scary and worrying for everyone. It doesn't matter what type of person you are. If you're an introvert by nature then I guess staying in and staying away from social areas is not too unusual, but the thought of having to go outside for essentials such as shopping and exercise and passing others, even with a 2-metre distance can be even more daunting. If you're an extrovert, then having to stay in and being told that you're not allowed to socialise with others can be terrifying, the thought of being cut off and isolated. Either way, we are all being forced to spend more time at home and the advice out there is that as much as we should all be making ourselves aware of the seriousness of our current situation, we should be careful to not spend too much time watching the news, reading comments on social media and surrounding our home with negativity. Now, this can be a tall ask in a 21st-century home, and if you're like me then you've already had more than one moment of pulling at your hair wishing you could just escape everything for just a while, and step into a world without COVID-19?
At the moment when I'm finding the real world all a bit too much, I've been taking myself off to the early 6th century in Arthurian Britain and surrounding myself with the likes of Arthur, Merlin and Lancelot. Before that, I visited the more modern age of the late 20th Century in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Not the most optimistic place to escape to I'll admit but it was a sobering reminder that there have been many other devasting hard times placed upon people in the past and actually made me quite grateful for all I do have during this pandemic (the book was Milkman by Anna Burns and you can find my review of the book on this blog 👆.)
I honestly think escaping from things every now and again is healthy. Our lives run so fast and so constant normally and all of a sudden everything has come to a standstill and we are all being made to slow down and whilst I think this is a very good thing all around and a positive to come out of an awful situation, it has left a lot of people feeling very anxious, paranoid and unsettled. And whilst watching TV can relax some, the great thing about books is that they don't skip to Ad breaks every 15 minutes where you are given constant coronavirus updates or news bulletins. Yes, keep up to date with the progress of Coronavirus, but do it once a day. The rest of the day, keep yourself busy and if all starts to get a bit too much....take yourself off to a nice comfy armchair, or a warm bubble bath or even your bed and escape to absolutely anywhere you fancy!
If I was told before lockdown I had to pick three things I wanted to have with me...I'd have run straight to the nearest bookshop or library and picked three books: Harry Potter Series (Childhood Fave), Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell (one of my fave authors as an adult) and The Green Mile by Stephen King (Such a classic!!).
So now it's my turn to ask you: If you could bring three books with you to read during a lockdown...what would they be? Which fictional world or past era would you escape to? Please comment below and let me know 😊.
🙏Stay Safe 📚Stay Home💪 Stay Strong
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