Strange Questions and a MIND CHECK!

Today I had a strange conversation with a client.

I am not fully sure what was going on with her, but she was asking about our previously booked appointment... We will likely have to cancel due to this whole Covid-19 virus.

I explained that because of my job, we are not an essential part of the work force, so for the safety of our colleagues and customers, we are closing down until we are told it is safe to go back to work.

Her concern was that because of this, that her appointment would not be kept in sequential priority. Which is silly because as a professional, and I am care for my clients.

There seemed to be a strange pushiness and hasty kind of tone to the conversation... and then she started venting at me about all of this stuff. Her cancelled vacation, her life sucked because she is a nurse and she has to go through all of this crap. She seemed to be in a little bit of a manic place, and just REALLY needed to take a moment and calm down.

This made me realize two things:

1. We think we are alone in this… but we aren’t.

2. Paying attention to how we respond to others is really important right now.

Everyone is going to be on edge because of this thing. None of us are safe from it, and we need to do the best that we can to be safe from it. However… we might also have to face a darker side of “civilization” in the next few weeks in north america and some people might not know how to deal.

This isn't going to be easy at all, and we are likely going to have a lot of weird days within ourselves emotionally, as we watch the world go through this.

I think that because of this, we should instate a “mind check” relationship, with ourselves and others. All you have to do is check on the people you care about or set an alarm to check up on yourself and your inner well-being.

The goal to self-assess how you are feeling and what you are thinking about. You can verbalize it, write it down, or message a friend online that you have agreed to become mind-check buddies with, while in this weird time of isolation.

It may sound silly, but this kind of practice, helps you keep your thoughts in check a little better, and hopefully helps you take a less extended vacation in crazy town. (because lots of people are already seeing the negative effects this has had on their mental state.)

***We should be in a place of wanting to preserve and hoard our sanity… not our toilet paper.

This was a silly game that my sister and I used to play when we were younger. We were mostly testing out theories of how we were surprisingly skilled at reading each other’s minds. However, I think the new version of this idea is a little easier to practice, and still improves your mental health and well-being. It just just about trying to be objective, and also keeping both sides of your brain active. This kind of exercise makes your left brain and right brain reconnect so that you aren't too focused on the negative. The connection and relationship between your right and left brain, is also really important for your full mental health.

We all know that this has been a really tough thing to face. We have never seen anything like this before, so realistically we are all just playing this by ear, and trying to figure it out as best we can. Just like our forefathers and everyone who faced plagues in times of desperation throughout history.

To have to isolate and watch from behind filters of social media in not helpful by any means. I’m very grateful that I have a husband and close friends who are incredibly intelligent, and they are able to sort through the fact and the fiction, where I might not be able to.

We are going to be OK, but we have to keeps ourselves in check a bit. We need to follow safety precautions. We have to consider more than ourselves in this scenario. *Also, sad truth, Coronavirus does not discriminate based on how good you were at emptying store shelves in your attempts at preservation. It really doesn't care.

We can’t let our bad entertainment feed the negative ideas that we are paranoid about. We can’t let the things that keep us up at night become more real. We need to learn how to not feed that negativity and despair and learn how to just care for the people we love. Even if it is from a distance.

I know that for some people this can sounds like pukey lovey dovey nonsense, but it's the truth of the matter... so nut up people!

Just… if nothing else, make an attempt to not practice the art of selfishness and depravity.