EPISODE 3 TRANSCRIPT

Siluni- Hi and welcome back to Healthful. I’m Siluni your host and today is a very exciting and special episode  because it is a conversation episode where my friends and I go deep into quarantine health in our experiences, and how you can live a better quarantine life. 

Parami- Hi everyone, I’m Parami De Silva and I’m 15 years old...

Samantha- Hi! My name is Samantha. I’m 17 years old...

Siluni- Quarantine has been a major part of lives for the past year, and it has impacted us in so many ways. As teens, we’ll use our experience to discuss how quarantine impacts teen health, unhealthy quarantine habits, how to fix them, ways to cope with quarantine stress, the positives of quarantine, and lessons we’ve learned. Hopefully, hearing our experiences will comfort you, and let you know that you are not alone during these unpredictable times.

Siluni- Being robbed of our normal routines, being stuck at home, and added stress has caused us to develop unhealthy habits during quarantine. So first let’s talk about unhealthy quarantine habits we’ve developed and how to fix them, if you have the same habits

Unhealthy Quarantine Habits + How to fix them

Samantha-

• Forgetting to eat due to being so consumed in work

  • Putting snacks in my drawer

• Sitting at my desk for hours without getting up in between breaks

  • Walking in circles in my room in between class periods

• Isolating myself from others around me

  • Attempting to reach out more

• Never taking time for myself and putting other tasks as priorities

  • Making myself a priority and having face mask nights

Siluni-

• Beginning of quarantine, Overeating snacks and comfort foods has become a habit (never smacked before quarantine), always heading towards the kitchen to get something and keep craving it.

• Now, stick to healthy food, there are plenty of delicious foods that are great for you, go online for recipes or inspiration.  You can still eat sweets and comfort food every now and then, but limited. 

• I won’t get up from my desk until I finish my schoolwork and homework, and overwork myself with volunteering and extracurriculars

• Make a timeline, and spread out my schoolwork instead of doing it all in one sitting without breaks, make time for myself where I’m not working on anything for school do what I enjoy

Parami-

• Overeating unhealthy foods all the time. Lost my pre-quarantine appearance, because I stopped dancing which was my main source of staying fit.

  • Really worked towards eating healthier, dropped my unhealthy binge foods. Started maintaining my fitness and really started focusing on my appearance.

• Getting easily distracted and my procrastination habits got way worse. Kept telling myself I do my best work last minute

  • Stopped stressing myself out over everything on my plate, and really worked on my time management skills.

  • Although, I still believe I do my best work last minute lol I try to not give my future self so much strain.

• Felt unmotivated a lot of times, but is a huge perfectionist

  • Anything I do, I always want it to be my best work and in doing so I always overwork myself. Sometimes I compare myself to others doing the same assignments, and I realize that I shouldn’t be stressing over simple things

  • Worked on things I was really passionate about, started getting back into my pre-quarantine groove

• Would stay up really late and get an unhealthy amount of sleep

  • Not gonna lie, my sleep schedule is still messed up, but I honestly am trying to finish homework and my extracurriculars earlier and go to bed earlier like I used to. 

Siluni- Living in quarantine for over a year has most definitely affected all of our health in some way, either mentally or physically. Let’s talk about ways quarantine has impacted our health. 

Ways Quarantine has impacted our health

Samantha-

• Forgetting to eat, drink, exercise, etc

  • Affected my physical health (circulation issues, sleeping, etc)

• Mental health has never been this bad

  • Bottle everything inside, do not cope with feelings, no vulnerability

• Little things go a long way because they add up in the end

• Set reminders on phone and put yourself first

Siluni- 

• Sitting for long periods of time staring at a screen

• Hours in front of computer for school, then hours in front of computer for homework

• Staring at a screen causes eye strain, and sitting for too long causes bad posture and neck and back pain

• You can’t avoid online school and homework but you can limit time on phone or TV

• Procrastinating on phone is easy, so turn it off for just an hour and see how much more productive you are

• To fix posture, do exercises, and be aware of how you are sitting, and get up and do stretches every once in a while

Parami-

• Definitely gained weight because I would be eating all day and stopped exercising

• Staring at a screen all day definitely takes a toll

• My posture has most likely gotten way worse just from the way I stare at a screen all day

Siluni- How can we cope with everything going on, and all the added stress?

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How to cope with it

Samantha-

• I do not have an exact answer because I am still trying to figure things out as I go

• Potentially seeing a therapist

• Journaling

• Listening to music

Siluni- 

• Listening to music helps with anxiety and changes your mood

• Painting is therapeutic and a good way to relax

• Going outside (even to your backyard) to get some fresh air and be in a new setting. I play sports in my backyard, which is fun, so it takes my mind off of things

Parami-

• Personally staying close to family and friends has always been a huge support system. It’s always the best time with them

• Taking time for myself, and giving myself a deserved break 

• Really missed being involved in my community the way I used to be, staying connected is very important

• Dancing, seeing family & friends, staying energized, essentially just taking time to do the things that make bring you happiness

Siluni- Quarantine hasn’t been all negative. We’ve been in this situation for over a year, so a lot of us have changed for the better in some ways and learned a lot. So in what ways have we benefited from quarantine, and what have we learned.

In what ways have you benefited from quarantine/ What have you learned in quarantine 

Samantha-

• Have become better educated

• Reflect over my life as a whole

• Learned more about myself

• Become more opinionated about modern-day issues

• Have more respect for myself

• Become more independent

Siluni- 

• I’m more thankful towards all the little things, like my good health (took for granted before), and even just having a roof over the head

• I value my friends and family a lot more because I can’t see them as often

• Learned how to cook in quarantine

• Became a better dancer

• I value my time outside (even my backyard)

• More educated on issues like racism

• I’ve gotten myself a lot more involved in my community, started this podcast in quarantine, started volunteering in quarantine, started a volunteer program at my school where kids can make cards for healthcare workers during COVID

Parami-

• It was really just has been such an awakening past two years now, a time I got to reflect on the world and the things I cherish the most

• Saw how important it is to be surrounded by amazing people everyday

• Started taking care of myself way more

• Realized how fast time flies, and how it seems like we're always running towards it never ahead 

• Saw the value of every little thing I was apart of since a very young age constantly, how I was never at home, always out and about

• Valued my talents, passions, and strengths more 

CONCLUSION (Siluni)- Hopefully, hearing our experiences, and tips make you feel like you are not alone because we are ALL going through this together. This year has been difficult, no doubt, but we’ve come so far already. As long as you get vaccinated, social distance, and wear a mask, we can get out of this and back into our normal routines sooner than you think. If you ever feel that you need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to reach out to Healthful. Thank you to Parami, and Samantha for joining me in this episode. They are very smart and passionate teens, so make sure to follow them in the social links in the description. I’m Siluni and this was healthful. You can look forward to new episodes every other Saturday.