Home — A Photo Story
By Isabel Feuerstein
June 12, 2020
SURPRISE, Ariz. —
Day 1: A bag of delivered groceries wait for me on the front porch of my grandmother’s guesthouse in Surprise, Ariz, April 2020. This no-contact exchange between my family and I perpetuates the feeling of isolation.
Day 3: Phoebe, captured for the purpose of companionship in isolation, looks beyond the confines of the guesthouse.
Day 7: My daily routine begins with morning stretches. Creating a list of tasks to complete helps keep me busy, mindful and sane in quarantine.
Day 10: Phoebe acts as my homework companion on the guesthouse patio. A daily ritual of getting fresh air that helps us feel slightly less trapped.
Day 13: A Zoom call with my friend Laura Heffernan helps to ease the feelings of loneliness that come quick in quarantine.
Day 15: My mother, Kristen Feuerstein, left, and grandmother, Lenora Swartz, right, eagerly waiting outside the guesthouse on my first day out of quarantine.
My mother opening the door, ready to hug me, with my grandmother next in line behind her. This reunion marks the end of my time in quarantine and the beginning of my time spent with family.
SURPRISE, Ariz. — I arrive at the Phoenix airport in Arizona, the always-sunny and sometimes boiling-hot state where my mother lives. I’ve come to this airport many times before, but as I’m weaving my way through the airport filled with weary, masked faces I realize just how different this arrival is.
Instead of being greeted with the usual overwhelming number of hugs and kisses from my mother, I am taking an Uber from the airport and staying in my grandma’s guest house for two weeks to avoid any contact with my high-risk family members.
No-contact means the only affection my family can show me is in gestures, such as a bag of groceries delivered to my door, and letting me quarantine with my dog, Phoebe. A gift not so exciting for Phoebe I’m sure, but a thrilling one for me.
I am not the only one living in quarantine currently; the coronavirus pandemic has forced individuals across the globe to isolate themselves.
This mental strain can allow for people to experience everything from depression, anxiety, anger and insomnia, to post-traumatic-stress symptoms. For some, this lasts long after their time in isolation is over, according to a 2020 study from The Lancet on the psychological effects of a 9-day quarantine.
These symptoms stem from the tell-tale stressors of being in quarantine: boredom, fear, misinformation, financial struggles, stigmatization and a lack of communication with others, according to the study.
Even though I am lucky enough to be quarantined with a furry friend, I still have felt the fear, boredom and a lack of communication. I notice these feelings the most on the nights where I have no one to call. These nights feel never-ending, lying in bed trying to distract myself with YouTube videos that do little to lift my spirits in comparison to human connection.
I notice these feelings the most on the nights where I have no one to call.
Trying to accept my quarantined state of life with these feelings hanging over my head has led me to question how we can cope with isolation and not let it overcome us.
This is a difficult time for everyone because we are social beings, so naturally, isolation is going to affect our mental health, said social psychologist Adrian Villicana at the University of Puget Sound.
“How to combat that is being grateful for all the technology. Use it to our advantage,” said Villicana, stressing the importance of activities like video calls to maintain a sense of connectedness with friends and family while physical gatherings are not an option.
Beyond remaining connected with others, keeping a daily routine with small goals to accomplish is another way to maintain a sense of normalcy during quarantine, said Villicana.
Attempting to follow this advice, I’ve found that sticking to a daily routine with a balance of exercise, work, time outside and time to connect with my loved ones has helped me cope with this difficult time immensely.
Although I found ways to cope, at the end of this journey, letting my mother and grandmother embrace me for the first time since my arrival felt like a relief. Sharing our first meal together made me feel as though I had only just arrived in Arizona that day, instead of two weeks ago.
This time however, I have arrived with a much greater appreciation for the company of my loved ones, both with me and far away, during a time as difficult as the coronavirus pandemic.