How to get out of the quarantine (and this crisis) stronger than ever

What you are dealing with is not easy. What we are dealing with as humanity is a great crisis. Not only health crisis but due to this obligatory quarantine, people are losing their jobs, small business are struggling, the economy can come to a bigger crash than it was in 2008-2009. It's not easy to sit at home and do nothing, while the world is crashing down in front of your eyes.

As I've traveled home with my brother, Serbia suddenly closed its borders while we were on our way home. They let us in but we've got 14 days of home quarantine, which has become 28 days after a while. People are forced to stay at home. The virus must be stopped. Doctors and nurses are risking their health to help the flood of sick people.

Let's face it, the situation seems terrible. You are concerned about your health and your financial well-being at the same time.

I personally, struggled with a roller-coaster of emotions. At the beginning, it was fun, then it made me feel purposeless. It made me spend most of my time watching meaningless videos, which was a poor way of entertainment because it only made me feel worse.

The pinnacle of this was when one day, I watched videos, took 2 naps with my puppy, watched a movie, and wasn't in a mood to look after myself or to do anything. I knew this was a great time to focus on the books I'm writing, to learn about the things I've always wanted to learn...still, it felt like the hardest thing, ever. I felt so unhappy that all I could do was to watch videos, even trashy gossipy ones...and sleep...

I had complained about this to my brother and mom. On that evening, my brother sent me a video about dopamine addiction. It was EXACTLY how I felt. I felt like a junkie, who only used social media to get her boredom fix. I was fighting against boredom.

In that video, I've heard about dopamine detox and I've decided to take action next day. It made me feel better.

Then I've realized, we are constantly trying to FIGHT AGAINST boredom...yet, boredom is not always bad. Boredom forces you to become creative. At the moment, we are dealing with a period of boredom forced on us. We can't meet our friends, can't go out, can't travel, can't party, can't meet co-workers. Let me complain, my case is even worse, because I can't even go for a run or a walk, which annoys the heck out of me.

Many relationships are getting worse because partners have to spend a lot of time with each other and they realize they don't like them as much as they've thought. Actually, in China, after the crisis was over, the divorce rates skyrocketed.

Our urge to fight boredom prevents us to taste life they way it is. To deeply know our loved ones and to dive deep. We are constantly trying to distract ourselves with something. Work, friends, sports, going out, etc...

That means, that we can dodge the 'boring parts' of our lives. Seeing your partner less often can make you less annoyed about small things (in case the love has started to wear off), the opportunity to escape from your kids daily is over. Schools are closed and 5-minutes parents start to realize that they don't even know their kids.

I don't want to be negative, and I don't want to judge anyone, just this is what I see everywhere. Couples are complaining. Parents are complaining.

I can call myself blessed with my family. We used to fight a LOT as kids. We basically hated each other. Also, we had a lot of friction with our parents as well. Every day.

It blows my mind how much God can change people. Because I'm with them all day, and we don't fight. I don't remember that last time I've fought with anyone.

I also worked on myself a lot. The last few years were about massive self-improvement efforts. I'm not the girl I was last year, yet, I still believe that without the divine part, nobody can be the deeply peaceful human being.

So, back to boredom. I know it hurts. I know some people can annoy the heck out of you, and some of them are too close to you. If not, you are truly blessed.

I just want to say that this is a great time to STOP and observe. To focus on yourself. To deal with the emotional trash of the past. To rest. To put the obligations away for an hour and breathe. To know your family better. To know what you really want. To journal. To learn new, awesome things, and to get bored sometimes. Boredom, a little bit of boredom, is great and it's necessary. Don't kill it off with watching TV all day and losing your willpower to do anything.

I've realized this was a great time for me to dive deep. Maybe the best thing you can do, instead of worrying and trying to stay super productive, stop and think about your life.

WITHOUT the urge to perform and to impress others. You can even be a little bit depressed if you want to. Let your feelings flow and look at your emotions from the outside. That's why I LOVE journaling. I can see my thoughts in a written form and observe myself from the outside. I can detach from the problem and see the bigger picture.

I think, especially high-achievers, are get used to constant distractions. It's very hard for them to stay sane.

On the other hand, people are always afraid of difficult times but if you use this period smartly, you can get out stronger than ever. Don't focus on finances only. Wealth is more than that. It's within you. If you have done it once, you can re-earn the money. If you don't know how you did it, educate yourself on finances. You have time anyways.

I hope this random though whirlpool was helpful!

Stay safe and stay sane!

Have a blessed day! <3

#mentalhealth #depression #COVID19