Rebecca Miller is cooking up a Christmas Day feast – even though she can’t taste a thing.
Both Miller and her partner Steven have Covid. They’ve cancelled their plans to go to Tasmania – where they were due to be celebrating her 50th birthday for 3 January, and his delayed 50th from last year. Instead they will spend Christmas at home in Adelaide instead, video-calling family and friends.
“Even though I’ve lost my sense of taste and smell, I’m still cooking up a full vego roast, a big stuffed butternut pumpkin with roast veggies,” Miller said.
“We’ll do the things we normally do Christmas Day but without people. We’ll drink, we’ll have fun.”
The couple are double vaccinated, and are now mostly recovered. “It turned around quickly to feeling quite normal again,” Miller said. “It’s quite surprising how good we feel.”
The Millers are among thousands of Australians isolating this year. Some, like them, caught Covid. Others are close contacts, and still others are choosing not to go out and expose themselves as case numbers increase sharply.
Ros Ben-Moshe, an adjunct lecturer at La Trobe University’s school of psychology and public health, said it is critical for people to connect with others if they’re isolating.
“If you can, in some way, whether it’s FaceTime, Skype or Zoom, beam in to see another person’s face, that can be very comforting,” she said.
“We’ve got some very clever brain cells called mirror neurons. So when I have a smile on my face, my brain is firing and wiring these mirror neurons and if that’s shared with someone, they also will have their own mirror neuron activity, and it’ll be enhanced.”
Emma Stevens, from regional Victoria, is expecting a baby boy in mid-January. It’s a high-risk pregnancy in a high-risk time, and she didn’t want to take the chance of catching Covid, even though she’s double-vaccinated.
“I’m so close now, and the numbers are up,” she said.
“I’m actually really looking forward to some time, just me and him.”
Stevens’ partner is spending Christmas with his children from a previous relationship, then he’ll isolate himself and get tested before joining her. While they’re apart they’re going to read the same book (The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles) so they can talk about it.
She’ll enjoy mince pies and custard, and virtual catch-ups with friends.
Ben-Moshe said that finding things to be grateful for is another really important way to cope with being alone.
“Rather than focusing on the obvious downer of not being with family or celebrating the way you want to, spend some time with a grateful mindset,” she said.
“That will help steer your brain away from what you don’t have, to what you do have. That helps people from going down that emotional spiral.”
Tracy Crisp’s son is a close contact, so the whole family is in isolation in Adelaide. The 52-year-old said she had been really sad, but often finds Christmas a bit sad anyway, “remembering all the people that aren’t there”.
“But it’s fine. We’ve got pavlovas and cherries. It’ll be a nice day still.”
That’s four pavlovas for four people in the house, with Crisp, her husband and one son ferrying food up to the other one, who’s confined to his room.
“I am frustrated that here in SA … I’m not against borders opening, I just feel like we could have done it later,” she said.
Ben-Moshe said another idea for people who are missing out is to look through photos of past Christmas celebrations with loved ones.
“When we do this and connect to the feeling, our brain relives these experiences as if it was happening in the present moment … tapping into wellbeing hormones such as our bodies’ antidepressant, serotonin, which is activated when we reminisce.”
The Millers hope to be out by 3 January, which is Rebecca’s 50th birthday. But for now it’s home, the roast, and experimenting with food and drink without any flavour. Sangria is on the menu.
“Because it’s got lots of texture in it, with the fruit,” Miller said.
