As the coronavirus pandemic continues its hold on the globe, people stuck in self-isolation have been using this crisis as a moment to reflect and think about their lives and the world we live in.
One curious person took to Reddit to find out what people had learned as a result of this crisis, by asking, “What has the COVID-19 virus made you realize?”
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Answers came in a variety of forms, from heartbreaking, to touching, to quietly unsettling. A handful of the most poignant answers have been gathered for you below.
How Much They Miss Spending Time With Close Family
“I miss hanging out with my brother and sister. We’re all in our late 20sish (I’m the oldest at 30) and the 3 have us have hung out all day every day for 8 days now. I love it.” — BigFreshCanOfSodaPop
While it is good that there are some people out there relishing this time spent with their family, there are sadly a lot of people out there who are being forced to spend this time on their own, isolated from their family. If you know someone like that, then maybe give them a call today.
How Much We Take For Granted
“How much we take for granted that everything just works. That things like a global supply chain just work. That an average joe like me can, in the dead of winter, reliably expect to see oranges in the produce aisle. How much we now rely on others as a society. We rely on manufacturing from around the world. Food grown around the world. They rely on our purchasing things.
“And how we didn’t realize how fragile that was, or how intricately everything connected. When this all started I didn’t care about toilet paper or food for myself. I only cared about one thing: was I going to be able to feed my cats? They are broken and spoiled. They have special dietary needs. Would I be able to get a reliable source of d/d venison and green pea? Or hydrolyzed proteins. Or chicken I can boil for my dude who has a sensitive tummy, AND no teeth. Would the pet stores have enough stock of wet food that he could tolerate?
“And it humbled and awed me to see an orderly line in front of the vet’s office of people maintaining social distance. I never thought, one guy, hollered, that I would ever be worried about finding food for my dog.” — mygrossassthrowaway
How Much Work Defines Them
“I didn’t realize how much my work defined who I am. I’m a barber and after a week and a half of not doing it, I feel very incomplete. As cheesy as it may sound, it’s my art form and it gives me a lot of meaning. I’m very hopeful, though, that I’ll make it through this and be able to do it again.” — dancegavind
Our society places so much stock in our jobs that it can be quite unsettling not engaging in work for an extended period of time. I am actually incredibly thankful that I can still work from home, as I do not know what I would do with my time otherwise.
How Often They Should Be Washing Their Hands
“I was not washing my hands enough.” — 52435423945
I can imagine that this will have been quite an eye-opening experience for a lot of people. My germophobia has been preparing me for this for a long time if nothing else!
Choices Are Crucial
“Having the option to do something and not doing it sucks far less than not having that option at all.” — dniwehtotnoituac
It is amazing how much choice has an impact on our mental health. A lot of us stay inside a lot anyway, but the act of being told to do so changes our whole approach to the act of staying inside.
That Most Companies Don’t Care About Their Workers
“That my job doesn’t care if I die.” — thomasnnnnn
While there have been a small amount of companies who have shown themselves to actually care about their staff, a worrying amount has shown their true colors by not helping their staff through this difficult time, with Virgin Atlantic and Wetherspoons being two high-profile culprits. This has been furthermore exemplified in how “essential” staff have not being provided with extra hazard pay by certain companies.
How Important Minimum Wage Workers Are
“That min wage workers are way more important then people think. And that people would be screwed without entertainment.” — FuckingCatalinaWine
Without people doing minimum wage jobs, the world would grind to a halt! Also, to those who say that artists shouldn’t be helped out financially in these times, think about how you are keeping yourself entertained during this pandemic.
How Much Food They Waste
“How much food I actually waste on a regular basis. I always thought we did pretty good about not buying too many groceries or making too much, ordering too much, etc. How wrong I was. I set a goal for our household that we would use up all of our leftovers before making new stuff. It’s forced me to be creative and experiment in the kitchen. Really shows you how long your pantry/fridge can actually last you.” — casual_zeemo
I am very guilty of this. I also never realized how much I was wasting. However, figuring out new ways to use up excess foods and items is an interesting and rewarding challenge!
The Reality Of Working Remotely
“How many jobs/meetings really can be done remotely.” — SharpieScentedSoap
There have been a lot of people hoping that working from home practices will be able to continue after the pandemic is over. However, I cannot imagine that most businesses will be prepared to make this a permanent arrangement.
How Much Extroverted People Hate Introvert Living
“Because of the lockdown, I found that people think my preferred way of living is hell”. — unopdr
There were a lot of people explaining how little their life has actually changed recently, with one person writing:
“Same here, I literally go to work five days a week (where I am in relative isolation anyway) come home and just play games, watch movies and TV shows, browse the Internet, etc. go to sleep, and repeat. On my days off I just do the same thing, albeit with going to work element removed.” — Halotab117
How Privileged Some People Are
“Just how privileged I am. Don’t get me wrong–I have plenty that keeps me up at night. But compared to the trouble a lot of people are in, my worries are nothing.
“This country is full of people having to choose between risking their family’s health vs. risking eviction. Folks with parents in nursing homes who they can’t visit. People with chronic health conditions who are terrified of a flare-up while the hospitals are full. Hospital workers who are living in their garages because there are PPE shortages at work and they’re afraid of infecting their families…
“I can’t imagine how much stress a lot of my neighbors are under right now.” — cortechthrowaway
How Incompetent The Government Is
“Australian here. It was pretty clear that our government didn’t manage the bushfire crisis very well, our Prime Minister in particular was totally tone-deaf. When this Covid-19 started spreading, I was willing to give the government the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they learned from the bushfire clusterf*ck. But no. Every day it is becoming more and more obvious that they are completely terrible at managing a crisis of this magnitude, and it will cost a lot of lives.” — BlackCaaaaat
This is not just the case in Australia. Politicians across the globe have been slow to act, and downright dangerously incompetent throughout this crisis.
That Celebrities Aren’t Important
“Truck drivers and health care workers really are the backbone of this country. Confirmed that celebrities are incredibly out of touch with the real world. ‘We’re all in this together’ from my $40 million mansion”. — FCB434
Was there anything as tone-deaf as that video of the celebrities singing “Imagine” by John Lennon? And I don’t mean tone-deaf in terms of their singing ability.
That They Married The Right Person
“That I married the right person. We’ve been self-isolating for two weeks now and being with him makes the biggest difference to my overall happiness.” — burnslikehades
Thank goodness that, amongst the stories of people coming out of quarantine and getting divorces in China, that there are people out there who have realized more than ever that they married the right person.
How Often You Touch Things
“How much you touch your face and how often you touch public surfaces.” — RedCopperPan
This one may sound quite daft on the surface; however, it is true, we spend so much of our lives touching things that when this simple action is largely taken away from us, a lot of people really don’t know how to act.
That They May Never Be Able To See Their Loved Ones Again
“I’ll probably never get to hug my grandpa again and he’ll die thinking his family abandoned him. He’s over 90 and in a nursing home, he can barely hear and is almost completely blind so it’s very difficult for him to comprehend what’s going on and why we can’t go see him.” — Megajumpman
As hard as it is to stay away from our elderly relatives during this time, it is important to do so for their own sake and the sake of those around them.
How Much Their Friends Mean To Them
“How much my best friend means to me. Heard his voice after a week at home. We are both very introvert so don’t call that much. So when we finally found a game to play together our first interaction went like this: Me: hey Friend: hey Me: its good to hear your voice again Friend: I missed you Me: missed you too.” — ya_boy_noobfucker420
We often take our friends for granted, but at times like these, we need our friends more than ever. Taking the time to call a friend today will do wonders for your mental health at this unsettling time.
How Hard They Were Working
“That I was working too hard. Because of all the suffering, I’m actually kind of ashamed to admit this has been great for my mental health.” — AnExpertInThisField
There was a remarkable amount of people agreeing with this. Sometimes stepping back from the stress of work can really help you to reevaluate your life and what is important.
How Companies Are Really Run
“That a company can run 5 months without a CEO, but it cant run a single day if workers do not show up all at once one day.” — lastintherow
This comment received a lot of praise from minimum wage workers. The person who wrote this also eventually posted an updated saying, “Justice is not for the rich and powerful, and the poor are bullied all the time by the justice system. They have kept us way to busy to let us THINK! Hope humanity takes the time this time, as we never had a chance like this one before.”
That They’re Glad Their Parents Are Dead
“That I’m suddenly really glad my parents are dead. No seriously, I see everyone so worried about their elderly folk and I just don’t have that worry. I’m grateful.” — Johnboysmole
I can’t agree with this one, and I simply won’t pretend to either. While I understand where they are coming from, by keeping social distancing practices applied and safeguarding the elderly, the elderly can and largely are being kept safe through this time. I know that this is a scary time, but panicking and being “grateful” that your parents are dead is a worryingly negative mentality.
