By Maame Takyi
Did you miss visiting your family members during lockdown? Now that we can see them, do you miss hugging them? There is some good news! Covid rules are loosening up, allowing people to reconnect with their close family and friends.
Humans naturally need comfort and affection through hugging. Hugging apparently is good for our health – hugs really helps with decreasing the levels of stress, blood pressure, and heart rate.
Things might not re-open fully on June 21, but we don’t have long to wait – hopefully. Soon you’ll be able to hug your parents, grandparents or grandchildren, much like we did before all this Covid business began.
We all need hugs
Hugging is the epitome of comfort, love, and connection between two people. Many people have lost that feeling of enjoyment and closeness that comes with being in close contact with family and friends, as the lockdown has made it difficult to socialise with those who are not in their immediate vicinity.
People’s only means of contact were video calling and messaging apps like Facetime, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Zoom — leaving many of us with no true connection to the outside world. We used technology as our new reality, to replace the one that was currently deteriorating around the globe.
Hearing about the deaths of many people because of coronavirus was frightening for many, and following the government’s social distancing of having to be two metres away from another person when in public, such as in queues, parks, and shopping malls, was frustrating and daunting.
The way you could greet or say bye to someone using your body language is doing the elbow to elbow, and then going your separate ways. Before living the lockdown life, people didn’t have to think or get themselves checked before they could hug someone but now, it is extremely difficult for many people to live in ways alien to their own comfort level.
Affecting mental health
The coronavirus has had a significant influence on the self-esteem and mental health of many adults and university students.
“It was really hard to deal with, especially not being able to hug anybody for support; in fear that I may give them the virus,” said Malia Amin, a 21-year-old Kingston University psychology student who has kept a pandemic journal chronicling her experiences.
“I have found it hard to keep up with deadlines at university, and I have had to explain my circumstances many times to lecturers. Many of them have been supportive but I wasn’t able to express myself due to low confidence and self-esteem.”
Amin doesn’t feel safe going outside, for fear of catching the virus. “I fear that going out may lead me to contract Covid-19 once again, and I feel a sense of paranoia in me about things that I once used to do but now, I can’t do it.”
Jessica Blotin, a 21-year-old Regent College HND Business student, has also found Covid restrictions hard to deal with. “Living during the lockdown by myself has been good and it has been beneficial for me but at same time, it’s been difficult, as I had to find new ways to preoccupy myself,” she says.
“Before the whole situation with Covid it was easy for me to kind of easily go to the cinema, cafés, or take a walk in the park without feeling anxious or being cautious of someone else’s safety. That kind of took a toll now because it’s difficult to be myself, especially when I am in those bad days regarding my mental health.”
Blotin said there are days where she struggles to get motivated, so she has found new ways to distract herself. “When the first news came out with Covid everyone had to be isolated, and with my situation of being alone, it kind of put me back to feeling comfortable with being isolated from everybody else,” she said.
But that made it difficult when lockdown ended. “I was struggling with going out and try to go back being comfortable with forming communication,” she said. “I think hugs are important, because it reassures us, it helps us know that a person is there for us and that they are understanding, and it helps us to lift up our mood – not just at the moment but later on as well.
“Hugs affect us in a lot of ways – they help us get through the day, the weeks … hugging definitely has a big impact on everyone’s lives.”
Priscilla Gyamfi, a 21-year-old Kingston University Computer Science student, says : “It has been pretty difficult. While I liked the indoors mostly before the pandemic I also like the outdoors, so having the option to kind of just go out, you know, like go to McDonalds or a cinema” was important to her.
“So not even have that option anymore because of the risk – it has been pretty hard to sort of adjust.”
Getting back to normal
Gyamfi said that following Covid protocols, such as socially distancing and wearing a mask, made her feel a bit paranoid. “I still have that slight paranoia that if somebody come close to me – I would flinch away from them. I always having that fear at the back of my mind of if I did something wrong I would’ve had to pay for it.”
As she lives alone she said it’s been hard not always having someone around to talk to in person. Before the pandemic she visited her family as often as possible, and it has been difficult not being able to do that.
“We still keep in contact, you know, texting and calling – mostly video calls – so I could see them visually. It’s been pretty hard.
“But I know that doing all this does prevent the risk and hopefully, when it’s all over, I will be able to visit my family again and sort of give them a big hug.”
Britney Enriquez Lopez, a 22-year-old retail assistant at JD Sports, said lockdown has made her anxious. “Things like that just mess with your mind – mentally and sometimes physically – because it can be draining.
“The things that I did to occupy myself with in those times is exercise more, kind of get that energy out, play games, listen to music, maybe go out just for a stroll – kind of like, get the mind busy.”
She says she misses the intimate touch. “It could be with your partner, could be family, meaning like hugs or anything – stuff like that. Hugs translate a lot of stuff into emotions, feelings, gratitude, and everything.”
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