“Over the last couple of weeks and days, my perspective on life and what it has to offer has changed completely. Naturally, just like millions of other people too. With news outlets screaming down my throat on how bad the COVID-19 situation is, with the obvious increase of my anxiousness, uncertainty and discomfort, as well as the constant thoughts of what I think life will look like after this – it’s hard for me to remain calm and tell myself that everything is going to be okay.
I like to focus more on the negative and sometimes remain pessimistic because it’s what the external world looks like right now. Being distant from the people that I used to interact with on a daily, and staying at home because I have to, makes me realize how amazing and ‘perfect’ life was before this. I took a lot for granted, not knowing that things at any moment, can change. That’s when I realized, I need to start shifting my perspective. I needed to accept and appreciate the present and forego the past.
Over the past couple of days, I’ve realized that life DOESN’T have to be as sad as you want to make it or what people say, do or think. It all comes down to how I comprehend it and what I can learn from it. That’s what I’ve been doing. So I decided to stick to the news once a day because it keeps me informed but it also balances my psychological state. The anxiety and uncertainty are met with spending time cooking and baking, or going for a walk around the block, or even calling my friends to FaceTime because I feel like it.
The nonstop thoughts have been met with positivity, optimism, and confidence that tells me life will be OK after this regardless of how bad things are right now. I’ve been trying to appreciate the small things that happen in my daily life, because that’s what keeps me going. Being grateful for what I have right now rather than what I used to have is another amazing concept to feel. It’s what I’ve been telling myself every single day, let alone every hour. I’ve realized this - every good has a bad attached to it, but every bad HAS a good. To be able to ground myself, feel what I have to feel, and then recognize that at the end of the day, with time, things get better and everything will be okay.”