As I’m sure most of you can relate, my life before quarantine seemed to finally be coming together. I felt happy and in tune with myself for the first time in awhile. March 12th felt like everything that I was working towards just all fell apart right in front of me. Now more than ever, taking care of your mental health is essential.
For a while it was hard to come to terms with reality. Having to give myself motivation was extremely difficult because I had no real reason to get out of bed. I was going back into old habits that I had developed before. With depression, you isolate yourself from everyone, falling into the habit of closing yourself off from any social interaction. Quarantine can be terrifying, especially when you’ve really started to work on yourself and now, all of a sudden, it’s going downhill because of COVID. Social Distancing is forcing you into this lifestyle that you’ve been working so hard to get away from. But this does not mean that it can be an excuse to give up. Everyone has “those days”, and it’s okay to have them. There shouldn’t be any shame in that. In the end, it’s how you pick yourself up that matters.
I know how hard this time can be especially for those with mental illness, I’m with you and you are not alone. Pulling yourself out of this slump is the hardest thing you can do. For me, structure and organization is extremely important, as well as doing the things I love. It’s all about you and what can and will make you happy. Music, reading, and writing has always been an outlet that has helped me realize how beautiful life can be. There are so many positive things that you can do during this time, like writing a poem, listening to your favorite music and discovering new music, reading a book you’ve always wanted to read, create art, or even just finding ways to love yourself.
We will fight this, coming out as better people as we were before, becoming more empathetic towards people who are different than us. I’m so excited to go back into our normal routines feeling grateful for the things that we do have and for the people in our lives who truly care about us. Just because you feel alone right now due to quarantine, this does not mean that you’ll be lonely forever.