“‹ Did you know it’s been over 100 days? 100 days since IL businesses began closing, since our governor ordered a stay-at-home order, since life as we knew it will no longer be life as we know it to be. I found myself keeping a daily log of how many clients I saw and how many were via phone, video or in person. I wrote down all the movies my family and I watched and kept a list of books. This month I made a Shutterfly album for my family titled “PANDEMIC 2020: Coronavirus How the Zakeris Persisted”
Why did I do all of this? At first it was a way to prove that each day was indeed different. Then to prove that each day was indeed valuable. Looking back at the 100 days, it is interesting how I remember the good parts and also the necessary parts. Do you? If not, try to make a list of what happened and what you are glad you did/felt/experienced. It helps.
I also tried to listen to the news less and learn scientifically more. I bought a “True HEPA Filter Air Purifier with UV Light”for my office. I scheduled someone to install a vented exhaust fan in my office. I bought a gallon pump of hand sanitizer. I continue to follow all the touchless and distancing protocols I have had since the beginning.
I basically finished my 6 month labor of love aka my new website. If you have not checked it out, please sign up here for my mailing list. I don’t have any regularity to when I put in resources or write a blog or am quoted in an article, but typically there are not more than a couple times a quarter that a message goes out.
My recentupdate #13has been updated with more anti-racist resources and articles. My updated words for #13 areReparations and Trauma. I have absorbedso much myself, and I am forever changed by recent racist events and grateful for the discomfort and necessary conversations I have had with others, as well as with myself. (The attached article, sent to me by a colleague, is interestingly from 1988 and asks some good questions.)
If you feel like you, emotionally or mentally, have taken a step backward and are feeling more angst and anxiety lately, you are definitely not alone! Everyone, every single one of us, is figuring out how to be OK. And it is different for everyone, and may even be inconsistent on a daily basis. What we think we will do or feel may not be how we find ourselves acting. Please treat others with patience, and kindly demand the same from your loved ones.
I know one thing for sure: Not everyone is feeling better, rejuvenated, optimistic. Whether you are suffering from (as this article names it) crisis fatigue https://www.wired.com/story/crisis-fatigue/ or you are scared, nervous, and sad, name your feelings and talk about them. Getting them out of your head and into the air or onto a piece of paper makes them much more manageable, although still sometimes painful and real. I am a good listener, and I know you know others. Find them.
Warmly,
Lynn
