Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz.
It’s been a rough couple of weeks not just for me but for the entire world. With COVID-19 rapidly spreading and the United States (especially New York State) being one of the hardest places that the virus has hit, it’s been nothing but rough, stressful, and frustrating not knowing what our next move is.
As I’m writing this, as a whole we are close to hitting 1 million cases of COVID-19, and by the time this is published on the blog only God knows how many more cases will there be, which is scary.
Before we continue, let’s introduce this month’s installment of:
Personally, it’s kind of crazy how much I’ve digressed mentally between last month’s installment of this series and this month’s post. It’s made me realized just what keeps me happy, and it’s honestly having a routine and some productivity in my life. Having those two things allows me to concentrate on the task at hand and my present surroundings instead of being in my head 24/7, constantly overthinking things.
Now that those two things are now non-existent due to COVID-19, I find myself coming victim to what I expect to be what a lot of people are experiencing: depression.
The depression I am feeling feels very similar to the one I felt all of last year when I didn’t have the schedule and routine I depend on now. I was home for most of my weeks, I was unemployed trying to find a job that would hire me, and I had a lot of time to overthink everything and be inside my head for days on end.
Of course, I have to remind myself that no matter what, we will get through this — that I will get through this — and I’m not alone in this process. Not only do I not have control of what’s going on, everyone else is in the same boat, and the only thing we can control at a time like this is how we take care of yourselves. We can keep our mental health intact by making sure you are keeping in contact with the people you care for as well as keeping your mind as focused and concentrated as possible! Personally, for me, I try to keep in contact with my coworkers and very few friends here and there to just feel like my relationships aren’t being compromised during this pandemic and if that means that I have to make the first move and hit them up, then just so be it.
Personally, I am keeping my mind focused and busy by writing. Not only am I writing letters for the blog, but I am getting around to start writing for the academic journal article that I started last year! Although this method isn’t for everyone (if you simply don’t feel motivated or well enough to pick up a new skill or work on a passion project, that’s perfectly fine) and remember that we are all different and we all cope differently! Personally, for me, I feel my happiest when I’m busy and productive and working on something or towards something. Because I control my emotions, I’m going to do what’s best for them.
I hope everyone is going through this scary time as taking care of themselves because honestly, that’s all we can control in life. Sure, things may not go our way and the simplest things are now some of the most stressful things to do, but we just have to go through the motions, and that includes how we react to whats going on around us and how we take care of our mental health as well as our physical health.
Stay safe, and take care!
Letters From Liz. 