When every conversation you have begins with the number of new cases or the new steps taken by the government to curb the spread of the virus, it becomes difficult to stay focused on your daily routine. No matter how skilled you are at blocking out all the noise around you, after a while everything fails. Either the noise gets too loud for you to avoid or you try so hard blocking it that you become exhausted. There is also a third case. The one where you have these small discussions so often that they become your thoughts. Thoughts, which start creating doubts on the inside and also flaming your anxiety in the process. Talking so much to so many people daily is not a part of everyone’s routine. It is not normal. But since staying confined in the house for 11 days, except for groceries, is not normal either, one starts compensating their daily activities with these small talks. I understand that nothing about the situation is normal and that I cannot just point at one unusual thing and say that it is responsible for some thing. However, hear me out. I am just expressing what I realized today. Like most of you, I don’t go through this sort of situation everyday. If you think differently, I would be more than happy to hear about it in the comments below. If you agree, I would still love to hear from you.
Coming back to what I was saying. I don’t talk to my mom for 10 minutes a call twice a day. Usually, my calls last under 1 minute. My friends don’t share dooming news or memes on those dooming news everyday. My roommate … Umm.. Let’s scratch that. I don’t hear from my cousins for months at a stretch. However, in these circumstances, every day one of the cousins reaches out to check on me. I don’t ask my friends ideas to bide time daily. You see the words I had to use to express that last emotion? “Biding time”. Yeah. I don’t use that word daily. Everyone around you asks you how are you or how are things around you? I know they are not normal. I am aware of it. However, repeating that things around are not normal and that you are forced into isolation and are still doing fine, numerous times a day, everyday sort of makes you question yourself, when you try to flush out the noise to work normally. At least it makes me question myself and trust me, it is not a good feeling to not be so sure about yourself, especially during these times.
In other news, Day 4 of the 21-day challenge was successful. 🙂
If you are new here, maybe reading the previous posts in this series will give you some context. Stay safe. Keep your spirits high.