Taking Care of You

The recent outbreak of coronavirus (COVID19) can be stressful. Scrolling through emails and news updates on social media can cause an abundant amount of unnecessary noise, and it can be easy to get lost in what’s going on. Now is an important time to focus on self-care and ways to stay busy at home, while also leaving space for others to practice social distancing.

Prior to going into why we should focus on ways to stay busy, it is important to understand what exactly is going on and what quarantine is. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that quarantine is an act that "separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they later become sick." This is intended to flatten the curve of the infection rate. This differs from isolation, which the CDC explains as an act that "separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick."

Now is the most important time to get in tune with yourself and learn what it truly means to be single. Instead of going out, there is space to focus more on going within.

Going within can mean a lot of different things for a lot of different people, and can come in different forms. It's the way we go within that matters; often we get so caught up in our daily lives that we never make time to pause to contemplate our mental health and how we really feel. When do we feel our best, when do we feel our worst, what makes us sensitive? What's been hurting us that needs a moment of acknowledgement? Whatever those feelings, they are valid.

This can also be a fun time to do some of the things that time usually restricts us from, such as baking something, spending more time with pets, treating yourself to a facemask while winding down to your favorite vinyl. There's a ton of different ways to stay busy at home to keep your mind off of the outside noise that's happening.

It's also okay if you're not in the mood to use this time for self-reflection and care. This is going to affect everyone differently. It's okay to be sad, overwhelmed, anxious, and/or unmotivated; every feeling is valid. It's all about allowing yourself to feel whatever you're feeling. Your worth is not measured by productivity. The idea that not coming out of quarantine with a new skill or a craft is because of a lack the discipline is a misconception. Productivity is bound to be low as people deal and process their emotions during a pandemic.

Lastly, this could be a crucial time to practice kindness. There's room for others, even while taking time to focus on yourself. This can be a hard time to connect with people physically, but a perfect time to connect emotionally. Call your mom, check in on friends over the phone, tell them how much you appreciate them, or even send a surprise letter. Anything to keep that emotional connection and love going. We are all in this together and can all try to make the best out of this situation.

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