With people around the country winding down their eighth week of self-isolation, FASHION is reaching out to some of our favourite Canadians to get a peek into how they’re living their lives in lockdown (remember: #StayHomeSaveLives). Each week, keep an eye out for new self-isolation diaries from actors, designers, influencers and artists who are riding this uncertain time out with us.
Allana Davison, beauty blogger
When the lockdown first hit, I was surprised at how much it seemed to affect me mentally. I’d never experienced much in terms of anxiety or panic attacks, but started to feel overwhelmed by the sudden complete shift in our everyday lives. Seeing what was happening in other parts of the world was scary and sad, and the speed at which it all came was a lot to take in! I found myself really needing to step away from social media for the first week or two. Seeing everyone posting about their blooming productivity that they somehow dug up from the depths of their souls and in their homes; the workout routines, the cleaning, the LEARNING—it all made me feel guilty for not being on the same level! I work from home normally, so why was this affecting me SO much?
I decided to shut off my phone, I took a week off from posting videos, and did completely mind-numbing activities to calm down and take my mind off of everything. I dug up my old Gameboy, downloaded Stardew Valley, and binged Netflix like I’ve never binged before! I listened to what my mind and body needed in those moments and think that shutting off for that little while helped me gain a better perspective of myself in this whole situation.
Once the initial shock more or less subsided, I found myself stepping back into a “normal routine.” Working from home already made it so that my day-to-day didn’t have to change all that much. My doc said that doing regular activity and elevating the heart rate is crucial for managing stress during this time. So after a few weeks, I finally gave in to the idea of at-home workouts. I’m such a group fitness gal, so getting the motivation to get my butt off of the couch was really hard at first. I started slow with some low impact pilates/barre-esque workouts, and have worked up to doing full-on sweaty HIIT classes in my living room! A few of my favourite workouts are by Jess Sims on the Peloton app (her full body strength classes are killer) and Mad Fit on Youtube. My beloved Ride Cycle Club has also been doing amazing Instagram Lives from the studio, and if you have a stationary bike at home, it feels so great to pretend like we’re all in the studio again.
I’ve actually really come to enjoy my workout hour in the morning, and even though it may seem hard and very cliché at first, getting my booty moving has helped keep my morale HIGH and the sluggish feelings LOW during this crazy time!
I love binge watching shows on Netflix regardless of what is going on, and there have been SO MANY good releases! Thank you, Netflix, for keeping us entertained, and I am embarrassed to admit how many hours have been clocked on the TV. The Witcher was unreal if you’re a fantasy lover and may be still upset about the tragic movie that they made from Eragon (also hellOOOO Henry Cavill); I loved Locke and Key for another quick fantasy fix; Tiger King (who hasn’t watched this?!?!); How to Fix A Drug Scandal absolutely blew my mind; and I am horrified to admit how much I loved Too Hot to Handle (I finished it in one sitting).
Once you’ve completed the Netflix catalogue, do what I did and download Stardew Valley. A beautiful game that brings all of the sweet memories of Hay Day, Farmville, and Animal Crossing into one sweet bundle! If you have an iPad, download it on to there – it’s the best for functions in my humble opinion. If any of you were Pokémon pals and want to dive back in to your yesteryears, during quarantine I learned that Amazon sells used Gameboys and I picked up a pile of my old games – such great lockdown entertainment!
Besides the Netflix binges and video game marathons, lockdown has proven to be the best time to keep up with loved ones. I’ve spent countless guilt-free hours on FaceTime with my close friends and family. Our normal travel schedules are pretty hectic and we don’t often have a lot of downtime to just chill and connect with the people in our lives. What used to be weekly or biweekly conversations with my family and girlfriends back home have become a daily occurrence and I love that part of this! Being creative and coming up with ways to have fun together via video chat has given our girls nights an interesting twist. FYI: you can, in fact, successfully play Kings Cup via FaceTime and ‘unce unce’ in a living room club shortly thereafter… who would have thought!
As for working from home on social media and keeping up with regular content, it was pretty tough to navigate what felt appropriate at first. I didn’t want to post anything that would make people feel worse than they might already be feeling in these tough times. How are others feeling in this situation? What would I want to see in terms of entertainment on Instagram and Youtube? I ultimately had to press on as normal – this is my job! – but needed to continue in a way that would be sensitive to the world around us, and hopefully bring a smile or giggle to someone’s day. I’ve been trying my best to continue with my regular content, while lightening the mood and being candid with how I’ve been dealing with it all at the same time. I find comfort in knowing that I am not alone when going through a hard time, and I really want to convey that to my community online.
Overall, I am trying not to dwell on the sense of loss in our world, and instead focusing on the things I’m still so lucky and grateful to have in my life. I’m trying to do the best that I can to keep the spirits high, bring some laughter and entertainment to my followers, and I look forward to the future when this will all be over and we can hug and kiss our loved ones again! Just remind yourself that this isn’t forever, this too shall pass, *insert Pinterest quote here*, etc etc … ☺ And finally, I so look forward to the bright sweet day where we can all walk down the glorious grey aisle of an airplane and whisk away to warmer lands filled with sun soaking and margaritas … until then! XO
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