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How to Stay Sane During the Corona Virus Pandemic

A list of things to do to keep your spirits up

By Virag DombayPublished 4 years ago 7 min read
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We all know what Coronavirus is and what it’s capable of. It’s all affected us in some way, shape or form. Maybe you’re like me and work in the Queensland arts sector and have had your upcoming productions and the classes you teach cancelled because of new government legislation. Maybe, like me, you’re worried about how you’re going to be able to pay rent in a fortnight. Maybe even the next month. Or maybe, like me, you’re just plain scared about the people closest to your heart, especially your grandparents, catching it. Maybe you’re worried about catching it yourself. Maybe you just want it to hurry up and leave. Maybe you’re angry, hurt, frustrated or anxious. You’re allowed to feel all of these things and more. If you weren’t feeling anything, then that might be a bit worrisome.

We all react differently to the idea of us having to be isolated and potentially fend for ourselves. Some people stack up on toilet paper rolls, whereas I went to my universities library and binge borrowed (and yes, I will claim that term) as many plays as I cram into my overflowing backpack. Some people stay up all night thinking about when and where the disease will strike next whilst I stay up all night listening to podcasts on how childhood is socially constructed. Some people go out running to cool off, whereas I grab my notebook and pen and write (yes, I am a nerd). My point is that we all react to things differently and that’s what makes us human. Consequently, I’ve created a list of things of how I’m trying to stay sane at the moment, how I can try to stay sane if I have to isolate myself and how I can lift my spirits up during these troubled times. As I said earlier, it might not work for you. But then again, it just might.

1. Creative Writing and Journaling

I love writing. I love creating worlds on a piece of paper; whether that be a short story, a play or poetry. I’m that kind of person that if a bag doesn’t fit at least two of my notebooks in it and my daily planner, then I don’t buy it. Whenever I have the time, I write. I even dedicate myself time during the week dedicated just to write. To be honest, the thought of possibly being quarantined and having an endless amount of time to write, is really exciting even if its exciting for the wrong reason. My point is, at the moment, we are living in a period where there is so much chaos going in not only the world but in our every day and there’s nothing more therapeutic than writing it down or creating a story out of it. So get that pencil out, or alternatively, update Microsoft on your computer so that you can let your interior monologue, as we theatre folk like to call it, out.

2. Listening to music

Another thing I love doing is creating my own Spotify playlists. I even posted an article on here a month ago about the creation of one of my playlists, so as you can no doubt imagine, I take my playlist making quite seriously. The cliché of relating a song or a piece of music with a memory is very real which is why it hurts so much when you hear that song for the first time after your break up (for me ironically it was Dance Monkey). Therefore, why not create a Good Vibes playlist of your own with your favourite mood boosters so that when you’re feeling down about the current state of the world, you can have a little pick me up. Alternatively, you might want to listen to music that depicts the way you’re feeling. If I was to choose what songs depict my current mood it would be:

1. Help by the Beatles

2. Hard Knock Life from the musical Annie

3. I Wish by Stevie Wonder

4. Hope by Meg Mac

3. Take a virtual museum tour from the comforts of my bed

If you’re like me and are a sucker for the Renaissance or just art in general, then here is a link which provides you access to a number of virtual tours including my favourite museum that I’ve ever visited in real life: The Van Gogh Museum

https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

4. Read the book on my bookshelf that’s been gathering dust.

Most of us live extremely busy lives so it’s hard to find time to read that book that you’ve really want to read but you haven’t had the time to so it’s just been gathering dust on your bookshelf for the past x months. Here’s my list of books that I would like to read off of my bookshelf (on top of the vastly large pile of plays I’ve decided to read)

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Death of a River Guide by Richard Flanagan

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Bridge of Clay by Marcus Zusak

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton

5. Re-organising things

Even if it’s simply shredding up old bank statements, going through the clothes in your wardrobe or organizing the mountain of papers on your desk, it gives you back some of the control that you feel like you don’t have with everything happening. I know it’s extremely difficult at the moment to organise future things when we’ve living in a day to day basis, but creating yourself schedules, however loose they may be, will help in the long run.

6. Inviting people over.

Okay, so the event that you were going to see got cancelled. Fair enough. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t spend time with the friend that you were going to see the event with in a different scenario. Maybe you could do something one on one at your house or their house? Watch some movies, play some board games, whatever takes your fancy. You don’t necessarily have to stop being social and seeing the people you love. You just need to be mindful of their health and your health.

7. Think of the things that I'm grateful for.

When I wake up in the morning or when you’re feeling a bit blue, I think of the things that I'm grateful for. I always try to think of five things, as I’m a sucker for odd numbers. Here are the things that I’m grateful for today:

• That my uber driver didn’t talk to me

• That I have the most wonderful colleagues who always give me there 110% and are always there for me when I need them

• That the show I’m seeing on Thursday hasn’t been cancelled yet

• That I had dinner with my Mum

• That I’m just as skilled at procrastinating as I was in high school

8. Study.

I can imagine some of you flinching and shaking your head at the word study, but this is a wonderful time for you to learn more about a subject matter that’s always interested you. As a human being who is currently studying externally, I can assure you that being able to study at your own pace and study when you are interested in studying, makes learning so much more fun. And with so many lecturials being uploaded on YouTube from a range of topics, most, if not all, of the content is there for you with just a click of a mouse.

9. Clear your head

As I mentioned before, I do this with journaling but that doesn’t always work for everyone. YouTube and Spotify have a heap of guided meditation tracks for you to use, you might want purchase an adult colouring in book (I have an Alice in Wonderland one and it’s amazing), play some tetris or go for a walk around the block (if you still can do this when you’re reading this). You can also talk to your housemates, call a friend or speak to a councilor. Web counselling is one of the best things ever invented so please use it.

10. Catching up on that much needed sleep I still haven't caught up with.

I admit that I’m a grandma; if I don’t get at least seven hours of sleep then good luck to you. That being said, I also live a lifestyle which in I don’t always have the luxury of having seven hours of sleep, so you can see the point of conflict there. Whilst it sucks (and sucks is putting it mildly) that I’m no longer teaching 7-14 year olds how to ‘act better’ on Saturdays, I selfishly am looking forward to sleeping in an extra hour or two. It’s really important that we keep our bodies healthy by sleeping as much as we can.

11. Watch some online theatre

Whilst I don’t have the links to everything on hand with at the moment, there are quite a few theatre companies both in Australia and around the world who will be live streaming events for free on their platforms. Make sure you do a quick google about the companies and artists in your area, as art has one of the greatest healing powers.

12. Reminisce

I like to reminisce on the time that was before COVID-2019 and hold onto it as we move forward.

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