Discordant Bells

Day 8

We should all be getting our letter from Boris today. I’ve read it already (online) and I can’t say it gives us much insight or reason to be cheerful. Who needs a letter when human contact is what so many of us crave. Yesterday’s announcement that we could potentially be in lockdown for the next 6 months deserves much more than the caveats that it will be reviewed in 3 weeks time and does not necessarily mean maintaining the same restrictions we have today throughout that time.

Already anxiety levels are peaking from being socially isolated alongside the threat of a potentially deadly virus and this is still new territory. While acute anxiety can be relatively harmless and presents quite visibly, we are entering into the mirky world of chronic stress that can lie dormant as we get on with dealing with everyday incidents. In this twilight zone some of us are as afraid of our fear as much as the threats we have been alerted to while others are already staring significant and immediate challenges in the face.

Discordant bells are clanging out there with peels we cannot hear but feel in our bones. We are not mentally equipped to operate in this kind of scenario. The virus feeds on the glue that holds us together and while the call to isolate is necessary its as toxic as it is expedient. The measures being put in place are piecemeal, difficult to understand and slow in being implemented and the pillars we have come to rely on feel more granite-like than ever.