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posted by Fnord666 on Monday March 23 2020, @03:10AM   Printer-friendly
from the would-you-like-to-talk-about-it? dept.

How to keep your sanity when you feel like the world is going crazy:

Hi there. How are you feeling today?

It's a loaded question right now. Many of us are having extraordinary feelings in response to extraordinary times. Hundreds of millions of people here in the United States and around the world are doing their best to help contain the spread of novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 by following World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control guidelines and, bluntly, staying the heck away from other people.

Even for a born introvert like yours truly, the era of prolonged, enforced social distancing is hard. Folks are either stuck at home alone, stuck at home with their families, or still having to go out into the world every day to work—either because their work is vital or their employers are being stubborn—and all the while, we're being buffeted by government warnings and endless waves of frightening news.

In short: right now, we're all exchanging some measure of our mental health in order to preserve our own and others' physical health, and that has limits. We're all in this together, for several weeks and months, if not longer, and basically, we need to avoid driving ourselves and each other crazy if we're going to get through it.

That, of course, is easier said than done. To that end, we called up mental health experts to ask what, realistically, we should all be doing to help ourselves and others.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by EJ on Monday March 23 2020, @04:08AM (3 children)

    by EJ (2452) on Monday March 23 2020, @04:08AM (#974312)

    When you were a little kid, did you dream of being an astronaut? Well, you failed. You can't cut it. You lost your mind even though you can easily go outside and enjoy spending time with your family.

    Ever dream of getting your own boat, and sailing around the open seas? Well, you failed at that too. You lost your mind even though you're not cut off from the world just because you have to stand 6-10 feet from other people. You can still wave at your neighbors and even go online to do all kinds of social activities.

    You people are weak. You would be the first ones to fall in any kind of societal collapse scenario.

    As for me, I am in paradise right now. I could happily be the hermit who lives on top of the mountain (e.g. The Grinch) as long as I can still get the supplies I need.

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by shortscreen on Monday March 23 2020, @04:32AM (1 child)

    by shortscreen (2252) on Monday March 23 2020, @04:32AM (#974324) Journal

    Same here. I'm at home doing whatever I want. Neither unusual nor trying. Your sailing or hermit on the mountain scenarios don't sound bad either, though I'm not sure if I'm up for the astronaut one ;)

    Now, if I was a kid hearing the news that I would be out of school for months at a time I'd be freaking out like a gameshow contestant who just won a million bucks.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday March 23 2020, @06:05AM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 23 2020, @06:05AM (#974335) Journal

      Very nearly the same here. New Year days have always been a day of reflection for me. I reflect on some of the really dismal places and circumstances in which I've spent my New Year, as well as the best places. Well, this is something like a New Year. None of us alive today can remember anything quite like this pandemic. 9/11 had some similarities, but not a lot. We haven't faced anything like this before, so it's comparable to a New Year, in a way.

      And, the circumstances in which I find myself today are quite comfortable. I'm in my own home, with the woman I chose for a mate, and the kids around. I've got food, water, shelter, and I'm comfortable. The internet, where I can bullshit with everyone at SN, and beyond.

      OK, I'll admit, I'm still working, so I don't have the financial pressure that a lot of other people have at the moment. Still, people aren't being evicted for being a month behind on rent, are they? Power companies aren't turning off electricity, are they? Water isn't being turned off. Food. If you have access to food, then things can't be too bad, can they?

      I've got things good, and I doubt that very many people in the US actually have it bad.

      More of us should have traveled, to see what "bad" is.

  • (Score: 2) by stormreaver on Monday March 23 2020, @05:41PM

    by stormreaver (5101) on Monday March 23 2020, @05:41PM (#974491)

    As for me, I am in paradise right now.

    I'm right there with you. I lose a substantial piece of my sanity (which leads to a shortened lifespan) every day I go to work. It took a massive panic like this to activate my workplace's managers' second brain cell -- the one that realizes working from home isn't going to destroy the universe. Some cities in my state have issued a shelter-in-place order, and I'm crossing my fingers that mine follows suit. I'm hoping that this Corona virus panic never stops, as it's prompted amazingly positive changes that I thought I would never live to see.

    Unfortunately, managers around the world will happily discard all of the productivity gains that working from home provides to the company in exchange for the continued ability to be able to exert their psychotic control over their employees once this scare is over.