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ISOLATION BE SPLENDID? Over 70 and self isolating? Itâs no fun â or is it? Weâve found some things you can do at home.
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elf isolation has its plus points. For starters, you can please yourself. Hurrah! If you want to eat a whole packet of biscuits and watch 10 episodes of Coronation Street back to back, then go for it. You can sing at the top of your voice, dance like no-oneâs watching and avoid the neighbour you canât stand. Things are looking up.
GET CHATTING! If you donât use email, social media or apps you can still use your landline to let your friends and family know youâre ok. Theyâll appreciate your call as much as you do theirs.
PRACTICE POSITIVITY! You have to be more accepting of your life but, more importantly, you have to acknowledge the current situation and respect all the great things you have. Think not about what you do not have but rather what you do. Look at things like how you have plenty of great family and friends in your life or that you have done a great job in your professional life. Think about how you have many events and activities worth looking forward to when this is all over. Make a gratitude list and read it every morning to set yourself up for the day.
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Age UKâs Silver Line âfor a cheerful chat, day or nightâ might be a nice addition for anyone living alone â the number is 0800 470 80 90. The charity suggests, in its coronavirus advice, âsetting up a rota with family and friends to make sure someone is regularly giving them a ringâ. If youâve never been introduced to Netflix and have a smart TV, then nowâs the time to start the simple process of setting up an account. You can watch Downton Abbey into the early hours. Similarly, if youâve never followed The Archers, nowâs the time to get acquainted with BBC Radio 4. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr/ broadcasts/upcoming
MAKE SOMEONE âAPPY If you know your apps from your platforms, arenât baffled by your browsers, maybe you could help someone older (or not) in your community to do more online. If youâre more technically minded, consider an âadvanced tutorialâ in something like Zoom so that you can keep in touch with community groups or classes they already belonged to pre-coronavirus. Thereâs lots of music making apps or just turn up the music and sing along. Scholars have shown that indulging in music can provide a sense of belonging. Favourite songs can evoke memories and feelings of connection to a person or place. Or tune into the radio, you may find a few surprises that youâve not heard before. If youâre missing out on live music Montreux Jazz festival is streaming concerts: montreuxjazzfestival.com/en/50-concerts-to-stream Google your favourite artist to see if they are doing any concerts from their living room.
