A lot of anxiety can come from feeling a loss of control. Some things are actually outside of our control. At the time of this writing, a lot of us are in quarantine due to COVID-19. Since we don’t currently have a vaccine for COVID-19, we are required to quarantine for our own safety and for the safety of people we care about. The government telling us what do to can feel like a loss of control for ourselves. This can cause a lot of anxiety. Here’s how to reduce the anxiety: look for what you can control.
The government told you to stay home, self-isolate, and wear a mask that makes your nose and mouth feel murky. You can control the kind of mask you wear. Look for cotton masks that have a pocket for filtration and a nose piece that bends around your nose. That added pocket can help move the air you exhale away from your nose. This helps reduce glasses fog, too.
Look at your loved ones. Ask yourself how you can keep them protected from pain and suffering. Choose which of the things you list to do. Take control of your part in their safety.
Join mask-making and mask-distributing efforts. The more masks your community has, the more opportunities to open up society we create.
Facebook and other social media are providing ways to video chat with people we can’t physically go see, at this time. Ping a friend and chat. Play video games and talk to each other over Discord. Fire up Zoom and use a Jack Party Pack to play games and laugh with each other. Just because you’re all stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t play social games.
You don’t have to sit around counting what you need to be grateful for – especially if that makes you feel bad for being ungrateful before. Anxiety can be fucked up that way and if it is for you, don’t do that shit. Do look for what you can control in your life and choose whether or not you are going to control it. Saying, “fuck it” to something you can control and choose not to is still controlling your situation.
Fuck it. Or not.