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but make it in a pandemic , e n o l . By ng a i v i Sa m L reen Ma q so After a long and tough day of online classes, Naya od Yacoub ran herself a hot bath, lit some vanilla scented Bath and Body Works candles, put on some slow indie music and put the world on pause. She settled into the bubble bath, thinking her day was over.
The first-year fashion student at Ryerson University missed her friends and family back home in Calgary, as well as her boyfriend in New Brunswick. Keeping in touch with them online was still keeping in touch, but she couldn’t wait to get back to the “old normal” of being there with them — going out for food and drinks, thrifting and attending fashion events. Yacoub remembered one night when she was feeling particularly lonely. She was scrolling on TikTok when she saw a video of someone speaking to their reality of constantly feeling alone. They dove into the details of how COVID-19 affected their life and how this pandemic has created a world filled with people who are all feeling alone. COVID-19 seems to have forced Canadians into living the same day over and over, often alone and isolated from their regular communities, which is making them feel lonelier than usual, according to a recent Ipsos survey. The more self-isolated and lonely a person feels, the more stressed they will feel. Realizing she wasn’t alone and could reach out for support, Yacoub began opening up to her friends and family when she would think herself into a bad mood. She found that the majority of them felt the same way. “This entire sequence of events has gifted me with the ability to accept my feelings, talk them through and then dismiss them,” she says. “The key thing here is connection.”
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COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns have been especially difficult for those who are living alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data, younger adults who are living alone felt more anxious and depressed during the pandemic than older adults living alone. The report found that 51 per cent of people ages 18-44 who live alone had anxiety, and 51 per cent of those living alone had lost their jobs during the pandemic and reported higher feelings of anxiety compared to those who still had a source of income. Being alone was a huge change and beyond terrifying for Yacoub. Without the comfort of having her family and friends around whenever needed, Yacoub found that she had to gain inner strength and force herself to face the idea of independence. “It was difficult realizing that I didn’t have my parents to rely on like I was used to,” she says. “When I was down, sick or needing help, I found my own ways to cope, which I now have so much value for. Self-soothing was a skill I didn’t think I had in my life until I was put into an environment and situation that forced me to develop it.” Through the journey of finding herself and gaining enough strength to pull herself out of her negative mindset, Yacoub found interesting hobbies to keep herself occupied. Her favourite is rug-hooking, a craft where you make rugs by pulling loops of fabric through a woven backing. She enjoys the slowness of the activity most of all, as she says it’s a break from her fast-paced routine.
