Lockdown in Southern Arizona

The nature of the lockdown experience varies according to many factors, including geographical location. In talking with friends and families in other parts of the country and the world, I’ve learned that going through lockdown in southern Arizona is different than going through lockdown in other places due to our unique climate. When we were first sent home in March 2020, I was thrilled because the spring in the desert is beautiful; during previous years, I was stuck in an office building. Now I could work outside! How great! This feeling of elation gradually changed to one of dread as the long Arizona summer came into being. In southern Arizona, we’re used to being in lockdown to a degree. When the temperatures are 100+ degrees outside during our long summer, many of us hibernate inside our houses. However, we do leave the house in the morning to go to work and are able to work in an air-conditioned building during the day, which mitigate some of the difficulties. Not so during the lockdown. I was basically chained to my house, a situation that was extremely difficult and detrimental to my mental health. I wasn’t going to the office, I couldn’t walk around the block, I couldn’t have an outside party with friends or neighbors. Cabin fever definitely set in. In addition, my internet access was disrupted by the heat and/or the torrential monsoon rains, which left me even more isolated. The spring, fall, and winter lockdown in southern Arizona were fabulous in that I was able to enjoy the outdoors more than when I was in the office; the summer lockdown (almost half the year) was a harsh lockdown.

July 23, 2021

Sharon E. Hunt

Sharon E. Hunt

text story

English Environment & Landscape

English Home & Family Life

climate

Arizona

lockdown

mental health

cabin fever

telework

lockdown

Arizona

mental health

isolation

climate

teleworking

Mental Health

Teleworking

07/23/2021

08/02/2021

08/03/2021