S AT U RDAY , M ARCH 21, 2020 | T HE GLO BE AND MAIL G PUR SUITS | P3

Due to the spread of COVID-19, over the next few weeks, and perhaps months, many people will be limiting their contact with the outside world.
One expert tip for people in quarantine is to take it as an opportunity to learn an instrument or take an online course. UNSPLASH

Surviving the cocoon

Upon returning to Canada from Spain, Lia Grainger learns how to find the positives of quarantine

m locked in a rental suite in tect others from me. ing for survival by sheltering in stick to a schedule. Use newfound with friends I haven’t seen in

I’ downtown Toronto and I

won’t be coming out for 14
days – not to buy groceries or
medicine or for a walk around the
block (even with my hands in my
pockets and a facemask on). And
I’m a tad concerned I’m going to
lose it.
I’m a freelancer and have been
working from different cities in
Spain for the past month. I ar-
rived in Madrid in early March,
unconcerned with the spread of
COVID-19. To me, my mother’s in-
creasingly frantic messages to,
“Come home while you still can”
reeked of paranoia. I rode in
packed metro cars and ate shoul-
der to shoulder with locals in the
city’s bars and restaurants.
And I watched with growing
alarm as Madrid’s confirmed
cases began to double almost dai-
ly (at the time of writing, they
number in the thousands). The
streets emptied. I heard chilling
stories from friends in Italy of
overwhelmed hospitals, doctors
forced to choose who lived and
died. I listened to the Spanish
government beg its citizens to
stop going out and watched as the
hashtag #YoMeQuedoEnMiCasa
(#ImStayingInMyHouse) trend-
ed nationwide.
Tomorrow, the police will go
from restaurant to restaurant and
bar to bar, until every establish-
ment is closed. Drones broadcast-
ing orders to stay inside will begin
patrolling the skies. I departed
from a nearly deserted Madrid
Barajas airport and arrived in To-
ronto Pearson in mask and gloves
– not to protect myself, but to pro-
As the virus spreads around
the globe, so does awareness that
staying home is the responsible
thing to do. I’ll spend at least the
next two weeks alone and in-
doors, as will many of you. The
sudden total isolation comes as a
shock to many, as we scramble to
adapt to a new, more solitary real-
ity.
One person who’s neither
shocked nor scrambling is futur-
ist Faith Popcorn. The prolific
marketing consultant and con-
sumer forecaster says we’ve been
trending toward this societal
withdrawal into the home for al-
most four decades. Popcorn
dubbed the behaviour “cocoon-
ing” in 1981 and says we’ve been at
it ever since.
“In the beginning, cocooning
was all about the fun and cozi-
ness of retreating into your
home,” Popcorn says on the
phone from New York. Her mar-
keting consulting firm, BrainRe-
serve, has been predicting con-
sumer trends for major corporate
clients such as Coca Cola (her ad-
vice: get into bottled water) and
Kodak (she said go digital; they
fired her) since the mid-1970s,
and cocooning is her magnum
opus.
Back then, Popcorn explains,
cocooning was a choice we made
to stay cuddled up at home, cod-
dled in our Barcaloungers, watch-
ing Blade Runner on VHS. “Today,
it’s serious and scary,” she says.
“We are hiding out from a lethal
virus that has provoked unimag-
inable anxiety in an already super
stressed-out world. We are fight-
place.”
COVID-19 has made cocooning
a new global reality, as govern-
ments and health organizations
around the world beg us to stay
home. It’s a darker, scarier co-
cooning, one that resembles sur-
vivalism and bunkering more
than Netflix and chill.
Canadians are starting to heed
the warnings. A March 1 study by
marketing consultancy IMI Inter-
national found that 66 per cent of
Canadians intended to do out-of-
home activities “much less” over
the next three months. That
number rose to 81 per cent when
participants considered the next
three years, indicating we intend
to stay in long after this virus has
run its course.
Beyond stocking the pantry
and making a run on toilet paper
(please stop), how can we pre-
pare for this lifestyle shift?
Steve Joordens, a professor of
psychology at the University of
Toronto Scarborough, says that
while it’s impossible to predict
how each individual will react to
isolation, it’s reasonable to ex-
pect some mental and emotional
strain. “Our daily rituals and rou-
tines give structure to our lives,”
he says. “When they’re taken
away, we feel adrift.”
My quarantine is only two days
old and already I’m not quite my-
self. My days lack definition. I feel
slightly untethered.
Joordens says that maintain-
ing a sense of routine and pattern
is key. Get out of bed and get
dressed. Create a dedicated place
in your home for work. Try to
free time productively.
“Think of it as an opportunity
to pursue something you’ve al-
ways wanted to learn,” Joordens
says. He suggests taking an online
course or learning a new musical
instrument. “It’s important to
feel you are still accomplishing
something.”
Of course, it may be hard to
practise the ukulele when you’re
compulsively googling “Corona-
virus Canada.” This is a pandem-
ic, after all, and stress levels are
running high. But while it’s im-
portant to stay informed, try not
to obsess. Registered charity and
resource centre Anxiety Canada
suggests individuals limit the
amount of COVID-19-related
media they consume. Commit to
checking only once or twice a day.
Joordens suggests meditating
(there’s finally time!) to calm a
spiralling brain. If you’re new to
the practice, download an app
that will guide you through relax-
ation techniques.
And if none of that is working,
check in with friends for support.
Yes, government-mandated co-
cooning means social isolation –
we can’t get together for a beer or
gather around the kitchen table
for a catch-up. But it’s 2020, and
everyone and their grandma has
a smartphone with a video-call-
ing app. Now is the time to reach
out and speak with the people in
your life. And don’t just text –
call!
Since battening down the
hatch, I’ve spent most of my time
eating egg sandwiches and chat-
ting with loved ones. I’ve spoken
years. My sister and mom sud-
denly check in daily, just to say hi.
And on every call or video chat,
I feel an unspoken shared expec-
tation that we’ve all got time to
talk. We’re reaching out for com-
fort and reassurance, navigating
this new terrain together from
our little cocoons around the
world.
I’ll be cocooning for as long as
is necessary to flatten the curve
and protect our most vulnerable
(please do the same). And I’ll do
the little things that make it bear-
able. I’ll shower every morning
and try to change from sweats to
jeans. I’ll practise my ukulele
(sorry, neighbours) and moder-
ate my egg sandwich consump-
tion. I’ll meditate and try to sup-
press that nagging thought that
I’m not allowed to go outside.
Who knows, maybe I’ll even
get used to life in the cocoon.
Popcorn believes that when the
virus passes, we’ll opt to stay in,
newly accustomed to the safety
and protection our cocoons pro-
vide from an increasingly hostile
world.
But I doubt it.
In the cocoon, we’re cut off
from the things that make us
alive – physical touch, live art, col-
lective celebration, the possibility
of the unexpected. My friends
have been dropping off groceries
at the end of the hallway with a
wave. I wait until they get back in
the elevator before walking over
to pick them up. I look forward to
giving someone a hug.
Special to The Globe and Mail

Most of us say no thank you to the extra cost of travel
insurance, feeling invincible before departing on a well-
PERSONAL CONCIERGE earned time away from work. But let’s put aside the bur-
geoning excitement of the coming holiday and consider
whether additional coverage is needed.
First, check what travel insurance you currently have,
whether it’s an existing insurance policy from work or
through a credit card and learn what’s detailed in your
policy. Extended medical coverage, trip cancellation,
trip interruption or baggage insurance for lost, stolen or
delayed luggage (including contents such as electron-
ics, sports equipment or jewellery) are typically not in-
cluded in basic travel insurance policies. If you’re a fre-
quent traveller, consider getting a policy that covers
multiple trips instead of paying per trip.
Bragging about our health-care system to our south-
When should I buy ern neighbours doesn’t get us very far when we’re vis-
iting the United States or any other country in the world
travel insurance? – coverage ends at the 49th parallel. With no insurance,
foreign hospitals will ask for payment before any med-
ical treatment and may ask for cash. If you’re a traveller
with pre-existing health issues, speak to your doctor be-
fore heading off on your trip and have details in writing
in regards to prescriptions or possible treatments that
could be required.
And if you think that you’re covered while travelling
in Canada, think again. Travelling within our borders
doesn’t guarantee the same health-insurance coverage
as being in your home province or territory. Read the fine
print of your provincial or territorial health-care provider
when it comes to travel, all which have information post-
ed online.
Travel insurance can also be a lifesaver when a holiday
has to be postponed, when Mother Nature’s wrath hap-
pens (think earthquakes, storms or wildfires) or unfore-
seen situations occur, such as a terrorist attack or the
spread of the new coronavirus. Trip-cancellation or trip-
interruption insurance will help recover costs, just don’t
assume or expect every penny you’ve spent will be re-
funded.
Special note to adrenalin junkies who like to indulge
or try an extreme sport: Participation in those activities
may not be covered by travel insurance.
My advice: Ask questions, pay a little more for peace of
mind before your next jaunt and carry copies of your
travel insurance, complete with emergency contacts,
with other precious documents.
– WAHEEDA HARRIS
Special to The Globe and Mail
Need some travel advice or have a question about
life on the road? Send your questions to
personalconcierge@globeandmail.com.