Why treating the pandemic as a phase is hurting your mental health? How to get out of the Corona “Dornröschenschlaf” / Hibernation

Hi there,

today I got a voice message from an amazing friend of mine. She is my age, pretty, super intelligent and very successful. She told me “It is a weird situation currently. Priscilla, I love it that you always find new things to do. It is very inspiring. I recently feel more negatively about the situation.”

Are you feeling like every day is pretty much the same, you have less energy, like there is not much to look forward as well?

I am writing about this today, because I feel this phenomenon is affecting most of my family, friends and colleagues. Since COVID showed up and the first measures were taken, it seems the world fell into hibernation. Everyone seems to have paused and is just waiting for the moment that everything goes back to normal. Pretty understandable. I also catch myself doing that. But there are problems with this approach. You are losing time. We don`t know if and when things will go back to normal. My main point – it has already taken too long. Almost a year has passed since the first Corona measures. You can`t or at least should not wait any longer to make your life enjoyable.

Here are 6 things that help;

1.      Make Relationships Fun again

One of the biggest effects of corona is on our relationships. You used to enjoy hanging out with your friends to do fun stuff, meet your colleagues after work? – Sounds fun, right?

On the other hand, more calls and video calls with family and friends, after a full work day of calls – not so much. So what is the solution? Try to find new ways for you or your friends to enjoy talking to each other. My friends and I like bad jokes so we share memes or we send each other articles on topics we are interested in or opportunities that might be interesting for the other person. Thereby it stays interesting and fun and they know I care.

2.      Discover New Hobbies

We don`t know when things will get back to normal. So you might make your time more enjoyable until then. Before Corona I sailed a lot, did a regatta, I crossed the Atlantic and travelled the world. With Corona that stopped. I waited a while and felt less and less motivated – like my life is work. So I was screening for hobbies I still can do during Corona. I ended up with two hobbies: Polo & Puzzles.

Read the restrictions in your area carefully, there are still some things possible. Especially now that it is getting warmer, there are more and more outdoor hobbies available: Archery? Tennis?... Check it out!

3.      Progress is Happiness

Instead of basically doing a Corona-Hibernation you can use this time to develop yourself, learn new things and thereby get to know yourself better and embrace your creativity and curiosity. I used Corona to learn how to use my tablet to design marketing material. I am getting coaching in improving my speaking and moderation skills. Also there is a whole range of online courses available. It is time to discover.

4.      Good Routines – Sports and Relaxation

I find I need to intentionally make an effort to insert good things into my schedule on working days. If I start working first thing, I go mad. I usually practice my swing before I start working. If your days always get blocked – put placeholders in your calendar. As gyms are closed where I live, I got a workout developed for strength in which I have A and B days and a Hotel workout (when I am somewhere where there are no weights) so I can train directly after work. That’s how I ensure I have my daily dose of sport. Also I try to relax, by writing a journal (not the “Dear Diary” kind of journaling, a bit more pragmatic) and I do breathing exercises for my speaking.

5.      Create Highlights

For me the highlights are my moderations, my polo lessons or small things like going to a different super market and discovering some new foods or finding a new Netflix series or being invited to a virtual networking event in order to meet new people. This will help you remember the weekday and stops your days from being blurry, all similar to each other. Treat yourself. Light a nice smelling candle.

6.      Me-Time

While you might think due to working from home you have more time for yourself, I feel it is the opposite. Lines between business and private life have gotten blurry. You feel you have to be available all the time otherwise people might think you are not working. Let go of this guilt and have some “me-time“. Leave your working area if you are done with work and if you can only use this place for work, so that you do not associate your whole apartment with work. The rest of your apartment should be for your private life.