Matthew McConaughey says quarantine forces us to self-reflect: 'The world before Covid let us deny that and run from it'

Matthew McConaughey has opened up about the benefits of being forced to self-reflect amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, The Gentleman actor discussed life in quarantine during a virtual wellness panel with Lincoln and the Calm app ahead of National Relaxation Day on 15 August.

He said: “We got a forced winter. And the damn thing came in the springtime. And so we’re forced to go in, we’re forced to be with ourselves - of course stuck with what’s going on up here in our nugget - and I don’t know anybody out there that that’s always a great place and great company to keep.

“But, it is company we should keep and check in with. The world before Covid let us deny that and run from it.

“Busy, schedule, I got it, I don’t need to check in and obviously, you look up, weeks are gone, months are gone, years are gone, a lifetime’s gone and you are finally looking back like: ‘Oh, I just got forced to check in with myself.’”

According to McConaughey, quarantine has meant that checking in with oneself has become a “daily ritual”.

“And that can be an uncomfortable place, and that’s good, it’s supposed to be uncomfortable,” he continued, explaining that mindfulness techniques such as meditation are not about “denying or getting rid of the anxiety and stress in life” but about “dealing with it”.

“We should have some amount of stress, it means we give a damn,” McConaughey added. “And it’s how to deal with that as part of the daily adventure of life.”

According to the 50-year-old, who encouraged viewers to continue spending time alone, “you will eventually enjoy the company”.

During the panel, the actor also discussed the ways he, his wife Camila Alves, their three children Levi, 12, Vida, 10, and Livingston, seven, and his 88-year-old mother Kay McConaughey have navigated quarantine.

One thing he suggests is creating “rituals,” such as daily exercise and family time, as a way of finding “order” in the “chaos”.

The father-of-three also said that he has viewed quarantine as “bonus time” where he can spend more time with his family and on introspection.

Towards the conclusion of the discussion, McConaughey acknowledged the importance of celebrating things we have to be thankful for and remembering that “everything will be alright”.

“Double down on that gratitude, rejoice where we can, dance where we can, celebrate these things,” he said, adding that everyone should make a “sense of humour” their default emotion right now. “I think it’s a great time for some understanding, some compassion, some forgiveness, along with responsibility, starting with ourselves.”