As the pandemic rages on and the American government continues to be willing arbiters of death, we are stuck here in this hellscape at the whim of megalomaniacs and narcissists. The unemployment rate climbing, jobs in jeopardy, and an ever-looming unknown settling over everything. In these doomsday-feeling times, it is so important to take care of ourselves and each other.
Hear me out. I’m no Eat, Pray, Love (Julia, wtf were you thinking?!) yoga mat pusher, but I am a huge advocate of taking care of your mental health. With the world being a raging dumpster fire with no immediate end in sight, it’s the one thing, if you can, have control over. Taking a breath and disconnecting for a little bit to recharge and be good to yourself, hell, SPOIL yourself.
We are living in unprecedented times with a president who has the IQ and charisma of a pile of actively rotting trash. If anxiety isn’t high, I would be concerned. Sure, there are days you may forget that the reason you’re not going outside is to stop the spread of a virus. No, you’re choosing to watch the 934880th episode of Law & Order SVU, but that’s not every day. Yes, there are days you throw your mask on and go to the supermarket and think, at least I can still stock up on flaming hot cheetos and people aren’t hoarding TP anymore, but that’s not every day. Okay, there are days when you might see friends at the park and sit on your respective corners and share laughs knocking back white claws and tequila sodas, but that’s not every day.
Every day is different. There are good days, sometimes even great days. Then there are really tough days. Days where it doesn’t seem like this nightmare will ever end. Days where you look outside and wonder how tf efforts of the most powerful leaders fell so devastatingly short. Subsequently, causing a dangerous rift in the nation resulting in people scoffing at health/safety standards. Days where you find yourself drowning in the pool of social media scrolling, tapping, being engulfed by news and opinions, making your stomach churn and your eyeballs burn. Days where you realize you haven’t left the house in over 72 hours, depriving yourself of much needed fresh air and just shrugging it off.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what some people are feeling. Everyone has their own set of unique problems and issues they were facing before the pandemic hit and now everything is just being amplified. It is not an easy time right now. None of this feels 100% A-Ok. It feels out of control and unpredictable and downright terrifying. Let’s also not forget during all of this a social revolution is being actualized, which tears at the fabric of our society. A movement that shines a dazzling light on all the faults and issues within American culture. Forcing a reexamining of social constructs that is debilitating but necessary. We are all suffering under the weight of these trying times and we’re allowed to have those feelings. We are going through a shared tragedy. It’s exhausting, which is why you need to take a break if you can.
Seriously. Take a break.
Take a nice long break.
Not a few days here and there. Not a half day. A nice long break.
You literally don’t even have to go anywhere. Just unplug, unwind, and unfurl on your couch, on your bed, away from the internet and away from the news and away from work. It’s necessary. Please, do it for yourself and the people who love you. You deserve it.
Yes. Yes, you do.