Problem
I thought that the COVID would have passed by now. It has not and it seems that in our state the numbers are becoming larger again. I have not seen my family for such a long time, and this is beginning to weigh on me. We call and talk but I wonder if they are ok and whether my husband and I will survive this virus. I am usually an optimistic person and I try to be upbeat, but under the circumstances I think I’m beginning to lose it.
I have had to work from home so I am not around other people. However I am a people person. I like the interaction and the comradery with others so I can’t say that I don’t see others but it is not in person. I would never have thought that this would be an issue but it is. I feel isolated and kind of lost.
Discussion
If you’ve been on this earth for a while, you have probably noticed that things generally turn around. I think part of the challenge is that we just don’t know when that is going to happen. It seems like unpredictability is something that is very hard to handle. We usually have plans to do this, that and the other. Now that has been taken away. We are left to our own devices and a lot of us don’t know what to do.
How do we plan for the future when we don’t know what the future holds? Should we even make plans is a big question. The truth is that we never really did know what the future would bring. The difference is that now, we have to decide what we do in the meantime.
Do we put our life on hold? Do we continue to plan in small ways to get through the day? Do we just give up and settle in? What are our options? These are questions that all of us face. I’m for making plans that get us through the day. Make a goal daily of what you most want to accomplish, then maybe by the end of the week you have met many of those goals. Sometimes it is just a day-by-day practice that we arrive at a place we could barely imagine.
What I am saying is: Do not give up. Our options are open as long as we can take another step. Do not cripple yourself with your negative thinking. Thoughts of doom and gloom will not get you to a better emotional place. Make the best of what you have in this moment. Make time on Zoom, Messenger, Facetime and Duo count. No, it is not the best but it is not the worst. Count your blessings, because you do have them. Encourage others because when you do you are also encouraging yourself.
Prayer works, so talk to the God of your understanding. There are times it is an ongoing conversation through the day.
P.S.—I needed to hear this as well!
To submit problems, contact Juanita Sanchez, psychotherapist, by email at [email protected] or through High Plains Journal.
