Coronavirus continues to reshape our communities. Many of us have now been in isolation for over a month and things are weird at best and crippling at worst. Increasingly, it seems for many Canadians that physical distancing isn’t just some weird interregnum from real life, but the new normal. That can be scary and depressing. Being physically distant from loved ones sucks. There’s no way to sugar coat it. But even things that suck can sometimes be managed with the right attitude. And while this is often easier said than done, if you are one of the many millions (billions?) espousing that life is pretty shitty in the Age of Coronavirus, you might as well give some of these tactics a try. What have you got to lose? Here are four ways to be OK with life sucking right now.
Keep community connections
It’s more important than ever to nourish, foster and invest in your community, friends and family. For the first part of Coronavirus isolation I retreated a bit, scared to contravene any self-isolation protocols inadvertently. I paid for it with my mental health and for one of the first times in my life, really started to struggle with my happiness. Moving forward, I’m reaching out much more deliberately to close friends, particularly those with whom I share a deep connection. I’m planning on talking to them frequently in the coming weeks. I will focus on these friends rather than more tangential friends and acquaintances because right now (at least for me) is not a time for networking or energy-sucking social interactions. Going to those who bring comfort is the way to go.
Plan like a planner
One thing that’s become increasingly apparent to me is that I am a planner. In a world where there are very few things to do, planning has (ironically) taken on an even more important role in my life. I plan my bike ride, my calls/physically distant beer with a friend, the show I plan to watch in the evening, and even the book I want to read. It’s different from real world scheduling in that it’s all local and frankly doesn’t really need to be scheduled. But rebuilding the structural lines between work and life might just be one of the most important things we can do – and planning goes a long way to help doing this. Planning helps give me a modicum of control over my situation and helps fill my evenings and keeps me moving forward. This is valuable in making life suck less for me as I seek to manage my own mental health during this time of crisis.
Embrace your good fortune
It is very easy to focus on how shitty things are. Particularly if you have been laid off, face precarious housing, have a loved one who is sick, or the myriad of other issues folks are facing around the world. It can be overwhelming. But there’s almost always a situation that can be worse. A key to resilience for me is to remember how fortunate I am, even as I share in the collective misfortune. Focusing on what you have and could lose makes one aware of the challenges you could (but are not) facing. It helps create real perspective which is important when managing your emotions at a time of crisis.
Think about the future
We are going to get through this. Never forget that. It is going to be hard and there will be real and sustained impacts on our families, countries and the economy, but it won’t always be the world we are in forever. The nobility of people willing to follow government and community orders to sacrifice their livelihood for the short term will net out in the long term. Don’t let the headlines of today get you down.