COVID's Mental Marathon

It's no secret that this pandemic has brought about utmost uncertainty, anxiety, worry, anti-social tendencies and a variety of other issues.

We have become accustomed to the comforts of our four-walls - if we can even still call it "comfort"?

Some people might say that their homes and bedrooms have become unbearably uncomfortable because of how suffocated we have been forced to feel inside.

So how do we cope with all this? With this uncertainty, with these infuriating lockdowns that seem to never end?

Do we still have the strength to stay positive and keep saying "Have faith," "Things will get better," "Everything happens for a reason."

Now, I have to say I'm a big believer of everything happening for a reason. It gives me faith, keeps my hopes strong and motivates me to just keep going and keep smiling... but how long can this go on for? It seems to be never ending... at least in Israel.

As an optimistic person I like to look on the bright side so allow me to share some thoughts.

1) Take up a new hobby! Something productive to fill up your dead time. For example, I have recently taken an interest in podcasts. I never used to enjoy them, I actually quite disliked them but with all this time on my hands and this constant feeling of grief I thought why not try something new, give something different a chance. (I will be sharing a link below of my favourite podcast that I've listened to so far!)

2) Walk - don't stop walking. Once you stop yourself from moving and stay inside the comforts of your bed/couch your body automatically goes into "shut-down" mode. When you get out, you get to see life, experience life and realise that all will actually be okay and we have to keep going.

3) Connect and re-connect. I don't know about you - but as of the start of this pandemic I have had the opportunity to connect with old friends and faces that I lost contact with over the years - people that I forgot I appreciated.

4) Build a schedule. Having structure gives us security. The knowledge that there's always something to do, tasks to fulfil.

5) Let FaceTime be your best friend. ACCEPT the calls from your friends! We don't have the ability to be social anymore so we need to make the most of what we have for now.

6) Talk, talk, talk! Let people know how you feel. Accept those feelings. Once you've accepted that feeling, you've passed the first obstacle, the next step is talking. This ties in to point 5 - pick up the phone, talk to a loved one, understand that it will be ok, and uplift yourself by holding on to faith.

We are coping with Global Mourning. We are grieving as a global society, acting and reacting in ways that we don't recognise. Rates of anxiety, depression and many other mental illnesses have increased exponentially. Having said this, there are always good things (even if they may be small) that come out of these situations... despite all these problems, we as a society have started accepting it and talking about it. Talking is one of the most important process of overcoming our issues. Bottling up all our worries will - and it is known - cause an explosion in the future, near or far. We are adapting to this feeling of suffering by talking and sharing. This allows us to connect - with ourselves, with others, building deepness that is therapeutic.

The saying "patience is a virtue" has to become part of our daily thought processes. We need to exercise the art of patience, of waiting and knowing that this IS going to end and there will come a brighter day.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

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A link to a song to walk/stretch to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmxSxKxBbQE