Decameron: Trust the Process [II/6]
Understanding Emotional Progression During and After Long-term Social Isolation
A stage-by-stage guide
Denial: You cannot accept the reality of your situation. You tell yourself this will only be temporary, and that normal life will resume soon.
Anger: You feel frustrated and upset to be isolated. You are angry to be in this situation. You find yourself irritable and prone to flashes of intense emotion.
Depression: You understand that you are truly alone, without any of your family or loved ones, and you feel an inexpressable dolour. You spend your time eating herbs and crying.
Goats: You find two goats and their mother. They are your new family. You eat herbs, cry, and spend time with your goats.
Goats (2): You become a wild creature and you wear only rags. Strangers would call you lean and hairy. If anything threatens your goats, you hit it with a stick. The mother goat is named “Cavriuola.”
Acceptance: Living alone, you decide, is actually great. You refuse to go back to society.
Return: You will go back to society, but only if you can bring your goats.
Alienation: You return to society, and live in close daily contact with your former loved ones, but you do not recognize them. You cherish only your goats.
Shock: “It’s me,” says the man who has shared the castle with you for years. “I’m your son.” You look at Cavriuola to see if she’s hearing this, and then, slowly, you look back at him. Could… could it be… Giusfredi? The son lost to the corsairs who raided your island, so very long ago?
Banquets: King Charles is overthrown, and your sons are to be wed! Rejoice! Rejoice! Re
Decameron is a newsletter recounting the 14th Century set of quarantine tales for 2020. Read the original story.
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