Lock Me Up, Throw Away the Key” – Lockdown Lifestyle; The Positive Impact of Hobbies on our Health.
Nobody could imagine that in our lifetime we would experience something as ‘apocalyptic’ as a global pandemic: during this time we have had to stay at home and not leave the house except for ‘essential’ reasons and have learnt the true meaning of ‘isolation’.
We have had to stay away from family and not hug mum and dad, we have been given time to contemplate and appreciate what we take for granted, we have learnt new vocabulary like ‘key workers’, ‘quarantine’ and ‘furlough’!
Despite all this, I have come to the interesting realisation of the juxtaposition between ‘isolation’ and ‘escapism’. Isn’t it funny that during lockdown we have become isolated in our homes, yet we have found it possible to feel enjoyment, escapism, and freedom through our hobbies?
I don’t know about you, but I am more than happy to never return to the office. I would work from home forever, spending quality time with my husband – as I am lucky enough not to be isolated alone – or doing hobbies which I never even thought I enjoyed. Suddenly, life has slowed down and I am able to Stop and Smell the Roses.
Speaking of which, I have spent endless enjoyable hours connecting with nature during the pandemic. I never thought I had green fingers, and though it has been a mission to source flowers and shrubs during the lockdown, my gardening journey has brought me to a stage where I am proud of my achievements, having created my own little Garden of Eden.
It has been a hobby which has also brought me and my husband closer, enjoying precious time together as we have both realised how much we love gardening. However, it hasn’t been without struggles and clever planning together. Isolation meant that we needed to consider options like gardening centres or online gardening stores to source our plants. For us, B&Q garden centre was our saviour: a quick Uber ride there, social distancing and well-routed guidelines to keep us safe while shopping meant we could still buy our pots and plants and head home for our ‘gardening session of the day’.
The best part of gardening is that you get in that all important exercise in. However, if you are like me and you hate the gym – sorry all you gym-lovers reading this and gasping! – you can have fun planting flowers and still get those joints moving and those muscles pumping.
What’s more, the weather had been good for it too. We have had some of the hottest and sunniest days to enjoy life during lockdown – though I do understand some people are not lucky enough to have a garden, patio, or balcony like we have. So we have been able to recharge our senses, to feel the sun on our skin, the soil on our fingertips, the cold water splashing down our legs when watering the plants, the cool breeze, the smell of green grass and rainbow of flowers gracing the garden landscape - sheer bliss.
So here comes the ‘science-based evidence’ jargon-y bit. There is plentiful evidence that gardening and nature provides a plethora of health benefits: you only need to head on over to the Royal Horticultural Society to find all the information you desire. Based on a report by The King’s Fund, studies show that there are many health benefits of ‘gardening’. Gardening is described in the Oxford Dictionary as ‘the activity of working in a garden, especially for pleasure’. Berg and Custers (2011) revealed that ‘allotment gardening was linked to decreases in measured cortisol levels and increases in positive mood, arguing that these findings were the first experimental evidence that gardening can promote relief from acute stress’. That’s good news for us all when, in an effort to neutralise the ‘pandemic panics’ and the induced ‘stress of isolation’, we know we can turn to the activity of gardening.
Furthermore, Clatworthy et al (2013) reviewed ‘the main theories which have been suggested to link gardening (and contact with natural environments more generally) with mental health state’ are known as:
• ‘Attention restoration’, described as ‘restorative effects [of gardening] to mental functioning by providing non-directed (non-goal-orientated and effortless attention) in order to provide relief to directed attention (problem-solving…)’
• ‘Stress reduction’ described as the ‘evidence that physiological functioning (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance) returns to normal faster following a stressful event when exposed to natural stimuli’
• ‘Social connections and exercise’ describing gardening as ‘usually social; engaging with others in a meaningful activity, and developing knowledge and skills as well as physical exercise, are linked to improvements in mental health’.
I am inclined to believe the science behind these theories, having experienced the effects of gardening first hand. The fast-paced London life required me to always be on edge, working in an office where I had to direct all my attention to ‘problem-solving’ activities, constantly being reactive to the environment around me. Since being in lockdown I have been given the ‘permission’ to just ‘be’, to exist in the moment, and gardening has meant I am physically active but mentally ‘inactive’.
Gardening has been a source of enjoyment, the joy it brings to the senses has meant I have experienced freedom from responsibilities in life. In turn, I have experienced a notable reduction in my stress levels. My concentration has been refocused onto a ‘joyous’ activity which has neutralised the stresses of lockdown. As a further knock-on effect, my body has responded to the physical activity of gardening, I feel fitter, stronger, and less fatigued.
Gardening is now a family activity, for myself and my husband. We have found a common hobby which has helped us both with our long-term health conditions. We have created a stronger bond with each other. We share our time planning on where to source our flowers; we go to the garden centre or the flower market together, we pick and choose our flowers together. We teach each other how to care for our flowers, and we share tasks on who will water the plants (my husband!) and who will arrange the plants (me!) in the garden.
We take photos of our achievements and proudly share our gardening activities on social media. We are the envy of our friends and family, but we also welcome them – with social distancing of course – to enjoy our natural haven together with us.
Though I haven’t always owned green fingers. But I have always loved hanging gardens of Babylon ever since I was a little girl. Which brings me back to the grand open natural spaces I miss seeing beyond my own little garden haven. For one, I have missed visiting Kenwood House and Hampstead Heath with the rolling hills of green and vast fields, the Hampstead Mixed Pond for summertime swimming and the beautiful Hampstead Pergolas. Another favourite of mine, as I am an English Heritage Member and cardholder, has to be Eltham Palace and Gardens with the beautiful art deco interiors and the quintessentially English garden surroundings.
As a City of London resident for many years residing near the Barbican Centre I miss my daily walks to the lily-pad ponds watching the ducks and the water fountains, as well as the secret treasure hidden within. The Barbican Conservatory with that most magnificent tropical plants, the incredible selection of cacti and aloes, and the magical turtle and fish ponds. Though, the highlight of my year as a City of London resident has to be the Open Garden Squares Weekend promising access to the most exclusive non-public gardens, my favourite being the breath-taking rooftop of Nomura International and the privately owned gardens of the Vestry House mixing traditional with modern landscaping.
Clearly, my interest in gardens and gardening has been there for a while, and it took a global pandemic for me to realise my beloved hobby: gardening. However, this hasn’t been my only realisation. During the lockdown, I have found more than one hobby that has brought me joy, comfort, and release.
For one, I found my true calling. With essentially limitless time to contemplate life, I found my Ikigai, my ‘reason for being’ and came to the stark conclusion that I am meant to be a writer. And here I am today, during the 2020 Global Pandemic, contributing The Everyday Magazine as a writer!
Every month I experience a calm rushing over me – such a contradiction, right? - when I sit at my laptop writing my opinion piece for the magazine. I feel such an essence of Zen, that the nerve endings in my fingers release energy when touching each key, and turn into words, which turn into sentences, which turn into expressions and descriptions. Thus I harness the power of emotions through the written word. Every word I write is a proclamation of the written word, and I hold it in the highest praise. This is my art-form, and as with all art-forms, emotions are heightened, making us happier people.
But what of other explorations in life? As a feminist, I have always believed in gender equality, to the point that even in my relationship I believe that husband and wife must help each other through life as equals, taking equal responsibility, making equal decisions, caring equally for each other. Hence, I never saw myself – for lack of another word – as a ‘house-wife’, which meant that cooking hasn’t been a priority in my list.
However, during lockdown, both my husband and I have explored the possibility of being what we have coined as ‘creative chefs’! We have spent countless hours exploring recipes on YouTube together – mostly due to Covid necessity – for our cooking endeavours. We discovered the extremely talented and home-grown famous Greek chef, Akis Petratzikis and recreated our favourite Greek and Mediterranean plates - think Gemista (stuffed peppers), Cannelloni, and Dolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves).
Thanks to this hobby, we have re-enforced equality in our relationship by learning to cook together. Each honing in on our strengths, and whilst doing so, we have engaged more, creating a closer bond with each other. Sharing tasks (i.e. washing dishes, placing the dish in the oven, peeling the potatoes), touching and smelling the food that has heightened our senses, and of course the ever so exciting fun-time sexual kitchen fantasies all couples desire!
Many have discovered their hobbies during lockdown when they have had time to explore their interests. Time. That is a gift that the global pandemic has given us, and if you ask me if I could have more time to explore escapism through my hobbies and enjoy life, then bring it on.
Lock me up and throw away the key! Though lockdown is slowly easing, there is still plenty of time before many of us will ever feel comfortable to head back out in the big-bad world. If you haven’t discovered your hobbies yet why not explore these 10 new hobbies to try from home during lockdown published in the Evening Standard?
Written by Maria Nicolette
Maria is Writer and PR Assistant, and a “constant contradiction”, she won’t hide her taste for ‘prestige’, is proud to announce everywhere she goes her achievements ‘graduating with MSc Management from Cass Business School’ or ‘worked at Coutts Private banking and in KPMG as an intern”. She loves luxury & fashion, and loves her mum too - who works in Harrods and buys her the best designer clothes! She seems a snob, but really a life of hard hits has grounded her, with a disability she strives to live according to her values; fairness, equality, helping others, female empowerment, disability inclusion. She enjoys giving back, she volunteers at the Brain Injury Hub as PR assistant writing articles for the ‘news’ section. She loves art and culture; she volunteers for Camden Arts Centre and spends a lot of money investing in street art and a lot of her spare time visiting galleries and museums. She is the dark horse in her family and a bit of an entertainer; she worked as a feature film extra for Mission Impossible 5, has taken part in the NHS 111 video, has done modelling for 4 years, and been amateur singing with her friend’s band. She loves graphic novels and would love to write her own in collaboration with an illustrator (apply within) – and is a bit of a goth and a geek, she isn’t impartial to some MMO gaming, loves fantasy fiction and sci-fi, and has cosplayed as Abigail Whistler.