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I never thought I’ll live through a phase in my life where I could legit use the word ‘pandemic’ on a daily basis. And not only use the word but also you know, experience it for real. The internet is rife with self-help articles on how you should make the most of this surreal but actually very real time. So I thought I’ll jump on the bandwagon and make use of the SEO paid by someone else (Is that not how it works? I have no idea. I thought I’ll use some ‘relevant hashtags’)
Anyway, here is my very own list of 5 things that you should absolutely try/ learn/ do in Pandemic 2020.
Stay Sane by Ashley Taylor on Dribble. https://dribbble.com/shots/10845919-Stay-Sane
Chill the fuck out!
Why is everyone so excited about FINALLY getting the time to do the things that they always wanted to? TBH it shows a really deep-rooted unhealthy pattern of being a part of this never-ending rat race where we barely have time for the things that we love while we continue to hustle (read slog) on weekdays and then live for the weekends. It’s a goddamn pandemic FFS, it’s okay if the only thing that’s looking up is your weight on the weighing scale. You don’t have to write the next bestseller, create the next most hyped single, or make a really clever meme. You just have to, you know, get through this, preferably alive and well. We really need to take a step back and reevaluate life. People who are being productive during this time, more power to you. People who are not, it’s alright. It’s not criminal to not make the most out of these days. You will be fine even if all that you manage to do is survive.
Source: Pinterest
2. Check your priorities out
From the latest viral tweet to the end of the world (literally) sale, we are checking everything out on a daily basis. When was the last time we relooked at our priorities? We need to check and recheck our priorities every day in order to make sure that we don’t lose our minds. If the only thing that you do every single day is worry about the future, then you need to stop. If working is something that you’re prioritizing over your well-being then god help you. WFH is crazy and the boundaries are getting blurred with every passing day. You and only you can set some healthy boundaries in place and not go crazy while you sail through this pandemic and try hard to keep an income-generating source. Money is important but so is your well being. Get up, take a walk, eat something, drink water. Your company won’t be happy about you taking days off while you inevitably fall sick trying to work without a break, you know.
3. Mental health is not a joke
No matter how many of us try to be facetious and crack jokes at our own self-esteem issues and depression, but mental health is no laughing matter. It’s really important and if you have people in your life telling you it isn’t, please punch them and then later blame it on your mental sickness, you know, because you’re unstable. If someone says that you can get over a depressive episode and anxiety issues by just stop thinking about it and getting over them, then please get over that person and fuck them off from your life. Speak up, there’s always someone ready to listen. Here’s a list:
Family
Friends
Internet Strangers
Me
Your local cabbie
Seek help. It’s okay if the only thing that you’re being decent at during this pandemic is managing your unruly mind. Strap on soldier, we’ll get through this. When the whole world is burning around us, the least we can do is make sure that our goddamn minds are fine.
Source: Science Focus
4. Self-care Saturdays and Sundays and every friggin day
The weekend has changed, he still writes great songs but he’s a different person now. LOL. I mean, the way we spend our weekends is different now. We are not going to bars trying to drink so much that we forget that we actually have really shitty lives or trying to make plans with people who we haven’t seen in ages and failing. So now we actually have time to sit down with our own damn selves and work out issues that we’ve been suppressing since childhood. Why does that one person at work make me so mad without even trying? Why have I only dated jerks? Why have I never gotten a single nice boss? Why do I think I am not good enough? Why do I always take out my anger at my little sister, is it because somewhere I think she’s way prettier and smarter than me and I am jealous of her? But why the fuck do I feel this way? Where did it all start and does that still make sense in the life that I’m currently living? Or we can always choose to watch a rerun of FRIENDS instead.
5. Keep in touch. For real.
I know, I know. There are days where we don’t want to talk to a single person, including our own family members. And that is okay. The whole point of having this idea is to not go crazy in solitude. Human beings are social animals and every person, no matter how convincing they are about hating people, needs someone or the other. It doesn’t matter how you stay in touch, you can schedule a zoom call and have a wine and whine party or you can just drop a text asking your friend if they’re doing okay. Maintaining some sort of communication with people will give you some sense of normalcy and when one day, when all of this is over, it won’t be awkward running into them again.
Hope this list helps. Then again, if the only thing that you feel like doing during this time and turn on the TV and sleep, then do that. There is no right or wrong.
Stay safe and stay sane.
Please note that this article appears on Medium.com as well.