{"id":227,"date":"2021-03-30T11:28:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T10:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?p=227"},"modified":"2023-04-20T09:54:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T08:54:32","slug":"ive-spent-years-living-an-isolated-life-but-the-pandemic-has-increased-my-loneliness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/blog\/ive-spent-years-living-an-isolated-life-but-the-pandemic-has-increased-my-loneliness\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve spent years living an isolated life, but the pandemic has increased my loneliness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">Ian, 42, is from Rochford, Essex, and has Usher syndrome. His work as a photographer came to a complete stop during the pandemic, leaving him more isolated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"647\" height=\"647\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/blog-ian-treherne-and-teddy-768x768-1.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photo of man kneeling down in a garden stroking a cat\" class=\"wp-image-239\"\/ style=\"object-position: 51.64% 29.19%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/blog-ian-treherne-and-teddy-768x768-1.jpg 647w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/blog-ian-treherne-and-teddy-768x768-1-450x450.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/blog-ian-treherne-and-teddy-768x768-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/blog-ian-treherne-and-teddy-768x768-1-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/blog-ian-treherne-and-teddy-768x768-1-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/blog-ian-treherne-and-teddy-768x768-1-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/blog-ian-treherne-and-teddy-768x768-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/blog-ian-treherne-and-teddy-768x768-1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 647px) 100vw, 647px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My name is Ian, I\u2019m a photographer from Rochford, Essex, and I have&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/conditions\/usher-syndrome\/what-is-usher-syndrome\/\">Usher s<\/a>yndrome. This is a progressive condition that causes deafness and gradual sight loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve experienced loneliness throughout my life, but the pandemic has&nbsp;<strong>magnified my sense of isolation<\/strong>.&nbsp;I live alone with my cat, Teddy, who has been a \u201csaviour\u201d for me in these difficult times.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pandemic made me feel&nbsp;absolutely petrified because I\u2019ve spent&nbsp;years living&nbsp;an&nbsp;isolated life,&nbsp;knowing what it&nbsp;can&nbsp;to you and your mental health.&nbsp;<strong>Loneliness&nbsp;affects everything&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013&nbsp;you stop functioning as a human being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ian Treherne on the Left Out Of Life campaign\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UJsCdvuGLEA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My photography&nbsp;work&nbsp;came to a complete stop due to the pandemic, which has further increased my sense of isolation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;only time I go out is for essential shopping.&nbsp;I don\u2019t&nbsp;have a set routine anymore and<strong>&nbsp;I\u2019m not seeing people regularly<\/strong>.&nbsp;When you\u2019re blind, you&nbsp;live&nbsp;a very isolated lifestyle already,&nbsp;so being able to go&nbsp;out and&nbsp;meet&nbsp;other people is&nbsp;essential to your connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I believe that&nbsp;<strong>raising greater awareness about disability<\/strong>&nbsp;and improving accessibility&nbsp;will help to create a more inclusive society where disabled people feel less lonely.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite&nbsp;all&nbsp;the struggles of the last year,&nbsp;I\u2019m feeling hopeful about the future and looking forward to connecting&nbsp;with others again.&nbsp;I\u2019m drawing from&nbsp;my&nbsp;past experience&nbsp;with isolation&nbsp;to get through this pandemic.&nbsp;<strong>I\u2019m&nbsp;taking each day as it comes<\/strong>&nbsp;and looking&nbsp;ahead&nbsp;to the spring and summer for more light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n  <div class=\"wp-block  box  ctaBox    is-style-textured-yellow-tint-10\">\n    <div class=\"ctaBox__row\">\n      <div class=\"ctaBox__content\">\n        <div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sign our pledge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Join us in taking action to make sure that no one is left out of life. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"ctaBox__cta\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/get-involved\/campaign\/left-out-of-life-fighting-loneliness-among-disabled-people\/\" class=\"button  button--secondary\">Sign the pledge<\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n  <div class=\"wp-block  box  ctaBox    is-style-textured-primary-tint-10\">\n    <div class=\"ctaBox__row\">\n      <div class=\"ctaBox__content\">\n        <div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Think, Ask, Include<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Read our top tips on how to make your local community disability-friendly. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"ctaBox__cta\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/five-top-tips-to-make-your-community-more-inclusive\/\" class=\"button  button--primary\">Read our top tips<\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ian, 42, is from Rochford, Essex, and has Usher syndrome. His work as a photographer came to a complete stop during the pandemic, leaving him more isolated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":239,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"display_author":[112],"class_list":["post-227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","display_author-ian"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227"},{"taxonomy":"display_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_author?post=227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}