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posted by martyb on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:08AM   Printer-friendly
from the does-anybody-really-know-what-time-it-is?-♪♩♪ dept.

Why are we all forgetting what day it is?:

Google searches for "what day is it?" have been steadily rising throughout lockdown as people desperately try to recover a semblance of normality.

Likewise, the phrase has been trending on social media, with more than 307,600 posts under the hashtag #WhatDayIsIt on Instagram demonstrating how many people are struggling with the phenomenon.

Struggling with time is only normal given the pandemic has ruptured our sense of routine, says Mary E. McNaughton-Cassill, clinical psychology professor at the University of Texas.

"During normal times our days, weeks and months follow predictable patterns," she tells The Independent. "How we dress, what we eat, when we go to bed and when we wake up are all dictated by our work, school and leisure routines."

[...] But in lockdown, of course, many of these cues have been eliminated. Our homes are no longer places to unwind. They are our schools, nurseries, offices, cafes, co-working spaces, bars and cinemas.

[...] To those experiencing difficulties remembering the time or what day it is, Dr Bijlani suggests enforcing structure and rhythm into your daily routine. "Try to wake up at the same time each day, eat healthy meals at regular intervals and ensure adequate hydration throughout the day," she says, adding that it's best too avoid excessive alcohol as this will disrupt your sleeping patterns even further.

Other tips include getting exercise where possible, not remaining sitting for prolonged periods of time and setting some boundaries on your working hours, avoiding working overtime. "Try and create a different structure for the weekend from the weekdays, too," she adds, "so you are able to differentiate between them".

Given that we don't know how long this period of lockdown will last, McNaughton-Cassill explains that it is also important to try and come to terms with this new reality.

"Setting specific goals, and scheduling time to achieve them in addition to our other obligations, can help us to structure the days, and feel more productive," she adds. This will also provide a sense of achievement, something many of us have been lacking in lockdown.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:30AM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:30AM (#990574)

    Happy Cinco de Mayo :-)

    If a fight between the Mexicans and the French, who do you pick?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:38AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:38AM (#990580)

    The first step, is to realize you are Ethanol_fueled.

  • (Score: 0, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:41AM

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:41AM (#990583) Homepage

    Mexicans are already retreating, but a few bad apples who benefit from the cheap labor choose to harbor those who should not be here. Those will be dealt with nonviolently but appropriately as enablers of human trafficking. Those who have built reputations as upstanding citizens while using undocumented labor don't have much tolerance for being publicly shamed as such, especially during a time of a pandemic with hotspots at the border and in Mexico.

  • (Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:03AM (6 children)

    by driverless (4770) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:03AM (#990585)

    If a fight between the Mexicans and the French, who do you pick?

    Don't look at the Battle of Puebla, look at Camarón to see what the French were capable of...

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:18PM (5 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:18PM (#990685) Journal

      To be fair, Cameron wasn't exactly a French battle. It was a French Foreign Legion battle. The scurvy leavings of half the nations in the world, if you want to be honest. Most of them only became Frenchmen after their enlistments were finished.

      The Legion serves France, but the Legion isn't exactly French.

      • (Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday May 06 2020, @12:58AM (4 children)

        by driverless (4770) on Wednesday May 06 2020, @12:58AM (#990922)

        Ah, good point. So we can keep making fun of the french French military :-).

        • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 06 2020, @01:28AM (3 children)

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 06 2020, @01:28AM (#990929) Journal

          Oh, most definitely!!

          I still have a number of "only dropped once" assault rifles available!

          • (Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday May 06 2020, @01:37AM (2 children)

            by driverless (4770) on Wednesday May 06 2020, @01:37AM (#990931)

            The depressing thing about the French is that while people with an English background are culturally mandated to dislike them, after spending some time in France (not Paris admittedly) I found everyone was really nice, friendly, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. It was quite distressing, I mean if you're no longer able to dislike the French then what's left to enjoy in life?

            • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 06 2020, @02:43AM (1 child)

              by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 06 2020, @02:43AM (#990954) Journal

              Ehhh, I don't dislike the French. They're kind of like third cousins or something - not real close, but close enough to enjoy kicking around a little. They've committed enough military blunders in recent history, they're just open to a lot of ribbing in military matters. ;^)

              Had they bothered to study Sherman and Grant in the US Civil War, they might have avoided the embarrassment caused by Rommel's blitzkreig warfare. But, we, the English speaking people of the world, have our own hidebound bureaucrats in military offices.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2020, @03:44AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2020, @03:44AM (#990963)

                Our relationship with France is just as incestuous as any other inside the Royal Family. Both Ben Franklin and Pocahontas (the original) were working the dinner parties...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @05:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @05:55PM (#990795)

    The Vietnamese, the Algerians and the Germans.