That COVID Life
Hey there, how's it going? Life out there is getting a little weird, right? When I wrote the last newsletter about COVID-19, I had a few different ideas to write about but had figured I would go with the more timely one. In many ways, I guess I failed to grasp how quickly things would change. The last two weeks have felt like the world has been turned upside down. While I knew things were coming, I didn't see the rapidity or depths of the changes coming. The more I have read, the more I realize even what has been done was much too slow, and maybe still not enough, but we will get to that in a bit.
Dealing with stress
I wanted to start out with some general thoughts about people and change. Change and uncertainty are always a source of anxiety, and currently, we are in no short supply of either. We are in seemingly uncharted territory, with no real answers for what is going to happen next or how long any of this will last. There is no handbook for this. You are allowed to feel anxious, you are allowed to drown it out with video games, or Netflix binges. Not feeling productive? That's okay. Want to use work to block everything else out? Go for it. I know I have had a hard time focusing on writing this newsletter, even though it has been mostly done in my mind for a week. You have to try and find what brings you comfort, try to find some normalcy if you can. Reach out (remotely) to a friend, maybe they aren't showing it outwardly, but I bet they need support too.
We don't all handle stress the same way. Whether you are stuck with your significant other, or your kids, or alone, we all deal with things differently. We have to remember that just because someone may seem fine, or detached, or more absent-minded, or whatever, it may just be how they are dealing with change. We need to be patient with each other. Personally, I know I do well with trying to let things strangers do roll off because I don't know what they maybe have going on, but I struggle more with this with those closest to me. It might seem like your kid is intentionally trying to be naughty, but they just don't know how to deal with things either. Younger kids might not understand everything that is going on. Still they know things are different, and they understand when people are stressed. Being in close quarters with family members is hard too. Trying to set up some structure is best for everyone, people respond well to routine. Try to find things you can do as a group, board games, puzzles, whatever. You also need to try and carve out some alone time. Take a nap, take a shower, take turns going to a more secluded part of the house. Find those little moments to yourself. Clear your head.
Once you are up for it, you need to start finding the good you can get out of being cooped up. Maybe you had a house project you have been putting off. Maybe there is a book (or fifty) that you have been meaning to read. Maybe you want to write letters to your friends, or write a book, or paint a picture. My kids have wanted to start a YouTube channel for a while, so maybe we will take a shot at that. Maybe you have a video game you have been meaning to finish or a TV show to catch up on. I wrote before about how constraints can help creativity flourish, I think we will get some fun material out of this whole thing. Plus, I feel like there will be a baby boom around the end of 2020.
As with any extreme public problem, people are helping where they can. A few things that you might find useful during this time;
- Calm is one of the most widely used meditation apps out there, they have made some of their courses free to help people deal with anxieties.
- Shawn Blanc is giving away access for his Time Management course for all those new people working from home. And anyone else who may need it.
- Darya Rose is giving away access to her cooking class for those looking to expand their skills during the downtime.
- Scribd is like Netflix for books, they have a 30-day free trial, usually, to get this you have to put in your credit card numbers, but they have taken that part down for people right now so you can try it for free.
Dealing with info
Now on to the other issue, dealing with all of the information.
This whole thing feels like it is changing by the minute. The last week felt like two months. What before seemed like a big news story, now feels like the only news story. While earlier I told you to deal with stress in whatever way works for you, falling fulling into watching news would be the one caveat I would add to that. While I think it is important to know what is happening and stay informed, there is just too much, and it will probably make you more anxious. Take breaks(even though I'm pretty sure I have told my phone to ignore my screen time limit for Twitter every day for the last week), don't believe everything you read on social media, follow sources you can trust. With that, here is some more info for you.
You have undoubtedly heard a lot about flattening the curve; this is the right move, but maybe not for the reasons you think it is. This article is probably the best thing I have read so for about all of this pandemic stuff, and it lays out what we need to do next. I think everyone should read it (it isn't like you don't have the time). Just in case you don't read it, here are some key ideas;
- The point of flattening the curve isn't to eradicate the virus, because that probably won't happen. The point is to give us time. Time to look for a drug to fight it, time to get more supplies produced so we don't cause a complete collapse of the healthcare system, time to find out if we can be reinfected, and ultimately, time to create a vaccine. When restrictions get loosened, the spike will still come, but if we can be more prepared, we can make it through it.
- We need better testing, the best way other countries have been able to stop cases coming in is by knowing where the virus is. If you test often, you can know who has it before they have been out and around too much. You can limit the spread by putting them in quarantine until they are clear of contagions.
- While it may or may not be true that younger people aren't as affected, that doesn't mean you are invincible. You still spread it, and many of those cases could have long-lasting effects. If you are out spreading it around, you are putting a strain on the health care system. Regular sickness and injury don't stop because we are dealing with a pandemic. Those things get added on. If an ambulance is dealing with people that have COVID-19 or paramedics are short-staffed because they are sick themselves; people having heart attacks cant be helped as fast as they should be. There are so many factors at play here.
- Importantly in the end, to me, this article feels hopeful, I know we will overcome this, it isn't extinction level. It would be silly to assume things will all go back to the exact same way, though. This makes me feel like normalcy will be able to return in most regards.
There are a few other links I think are interesting;
- This Kurzgesagt video is an excellent explainer of what happens from the virus.
- This interview on Wired with a doctor who helped eliminate smallpox is worth a read as well.
Closing
One other nice thing that has come out of all of this is that the whole world feels pretty united right now. Something like this tends to do that, but it is still a nice feeling. To have a common enemy. There are still things that people don't agree on, and you still have some extreme deniers and some people trying to profit off of panic. In comparison to the division of three months ago, this feels pretty good. One of the things I set out for myself this year was to try and come up with one big topic to tackle each quarter, and my plan for one of them was why the country feels so divided. I will still probably try and get into that as we approach the election in the fall. Yet, for now, I am just going to enjoy the solidarity.
Just remember you aren't alone, take everything a day at a time, wash your hands. Stay home. Stay safe.
Thanks for reading,
Mike