This lockdown is hitting harder than 2020, especially for single people

Hundreds of thousands of people are being hit with a new problem and at the moment there is no easy solution.

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The right to freedom. The right to choose. The right to own and operate capital ventures. In Australia, it’s our birthright to be free. In times of oppression it makes sense to fight for rights that have been stricken from our lives.

However, the depiction of some 3000 Sydneysiders protesting for their rights over the weekend seemed so abhorrently wrong. As a so-called “Freedom Rally” ravaged on in the CBD, images of vehement and vocal supporters flooded social media. Heck, there was even a fire breather.

The rally fuelled many, including myself, with a bubbling concoction of confusion and rage. My cauldron of anger toiled and troubled. I was mad, not only for the participants’ utter contempt for public health orders, but on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people in the state who are waking up each day hoping for a cure to the silent pandemic we face right now – loneliness.

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The irony of some Sydneysiders protesting for freedom while behaving in a way that will extend the misery for everyone else is astounding. Picture: Matrix News.

Yesterday, NSW was dealt the anticipated and necessary blow of a four-week lockdown extension. However, the Berejiklian government has thrown the mental wellbeing of its community a lifeline.

Following the lead shown by Victoria and South Australia, the “single bubble” has moved north. People who live alone can designate one loved one to visit their household for the (hopefully) remaining four weeks of lockdown.

The decree is a welcome reprieve for what has felt like a more gruelling lockdown for those of us who are dateless, single parents or living alone.

Now, through rose coloured glasses, 2020’s lockdown seems like a socially-distanced walk in the park. Last year, we ran on an adrenaline high. Zoom trivia, walking group bubbles, Houseparty. The initial lockdown was a novel distraction for what has become an 18-month saga.

The activities that kept singles connected during last year’s stay-at-home orders seem as arduous and exhausting as tracking daily case numbers or fielding well wishes from loved ones interstate.

This lockdown has clamped down harder, especially for those living in the city’s west.

While we experience at-home activity fatigue, many have sought comfort in the mundane nature of regular and familiar company. Be it from family members or intimate partners, it is the type of company that doesn’t require you to take off your trackies or talk about anything more serious than the Olympic medal tally.

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The latest lockdown feels harder than in 2020, especially for people who live alone or are bubbled with just kids. Picture: iStock

Until yesterday a sweeping number of people in Sydney had been locked out of this bubble of companionship. Instead one-man bands have relied on incidental walks in the park or other social escapades veiled as exercise, to combat their loneliness.

Although it is a bow in the armour, we can’t rely on the single person bubble to cure our communal loneliness.

While incomparable to the feelings of those whose loved ones have been infected or tragically lost at the hands of the Delta variant, around the city, we are all grieving.

Parents are grieving for times when a work-life balance didn’t include remote learning. Twenty-somethings are grieving for careers and lifestyle seemingly put on pause. Business owners are grieving the uncertainty of an unforgiving and unknown reality.

No matter what situation a Sydneysider finds themselves in, we have all been shot with an unshakeable dose of loneliness.

Yes, even those of us who chose to go to the protest over the weekend have been jabbed.

With our supplies of love and companionship as low as that of the Pfizer vaccine, right now we need to show compassion for ourselves and those around us.

Melbourne based director of The Resilience Project, Hugh van Cuylenburg, has been through his fair share of lockdown loneliness in the Victorian capital. Van Cuylenburg argues that in lieu of physical connection, to overcome loneliness, Sydneysiders need to look to other ways to experience love.

“You don’t necessarily have to hook up with someone or be in a long-term relationship to experience the emotion of love,” says van Cuylenburg. “Love refers to those micromoments of positive resonance. Those micromoments don’t have to be with another human being. I guess that is gratitude, when you realise how lucky you are to experience something.

“If you are feeling particularly lonely, look out for the good stuff in your life. Maybe at the end of the day just record three micromoments of positive resonates. What are three things that well for you during the day? Focus on it that way.”

As we transition from Groundhog Day into Groundhog Month, the sneaky tentacles of loneliness sneak into our psyche unexpectedly.

The moment where a friend can meet you outside your house but can’t have them past the front door. When you face the reality that post-lockdown life won’t automatically mean domestic borders are flung open and normality is restored.

When you hang up your first Zoom party since 2020, only to be greeted by a light buzz from a glass of wine and an empty living room. It’s rare for our joyous micromoments moments not to be painted with a tinge of greyish sadness.

Just like Covid itself, none of us are immune to this sense of loveless loneliness.

It’s our Australian right to be sinking a beer at the pub, brunching with friends and commuting godawful hours to our workplaces. However, like many, I am doing the right thing protesting for my right to freedom through my loneliness at home.

Will Cook is a freelance writer | @willcookyouanything