Psychological well-being during COVID-19 lockdown

In a busy life, it is often difficult to strike a balance between work, family and our own quiet time. In a crisis, even more so.

I am a wife, a mother, a clinical psychologist and lecturer, and doctoral student. Thus, I wear many hats. My first instinct when the lockdown was put into effect was that finally I would have some time to be productive with my PhD proposal! Of course, this did not happen. I was home with all four of my kids, all day. And while the world was becoming anxious, so too were my kids. 

The first thing we have to remember about the current global crisis is that no one has experience with it. What this means is, none of us have experienced a global pandemic before and neither have we experienced a lockdown situation. This is all new and while trying to come to terms with the situation and all of its effects, we are left feeling quite anxious. This is normal. The anxiety we are currently experiencing is a normal response to a very abnormal situation. When I was able to remind myself of that, I took a deep breath and told myself to be present for the kids and myself and start there.

As a psychologist, we are interested in patterns. We analyse patterns of both individuals and the systems in which they exist. One thing I have learnt is that when a system has trouble, it will expose the system’s flaws. As a South African, I am acutely aware of how this pandemic has exposed our biggest flaw – inequality. We are encouraged to practice good hygiene by washing our hands regularly, sanitizing, and practice social distancing. How does one do this when your basic needs are a priority? How do you add sanitizer to the list when you are barely making it to cover bread and milk? This is the reality for many South Africans. How do you socially distance yourself when your home is merely inches away from your neighbour’s? While South Africa’s middle class were stockpiling, the majority of South Africans were still trying to keep their heads above water. This is the sad reality. My domestic helper lives in one of the densely populated informal settlements in the southern suburbs. One evening she left late and I took her home. I was amazed at the liveliness of her area. Everyone was outdoors, talking and socializing, even the children! People were sharing and it looked like they were having a good time. I sometimes feel like we have lost the sense of community in our bigger suburbs and more urban areas. In these communities, where the spirit of Ubuntu (humanity) is very much alive, how do you enforce social distancing, even though it is integral to flattening the curve of the spread? We face these difficulties in South Africa.

As a lecturer, we have an additional challenge. Classes need to be moved online. Again, the reality of South Africa hits me. A large component of our student population does not have access to computers or internet services. Some of them probably have no access to electricity either. But I am hopeful that as our Presidency endeavours to address the various needs of the country, so too will our Vice Rector address the needs of staff and students and so too must we address our own needs.