For the last few days, I've been joking about everyone complaining about needing to quarantine, and I'm like, amateurs! I had to stay in my germ-free bubble for 6 months when I was on chemo! You're going stir-crazy after three days? CRY ME A RIVER!
But then today, even I started feeling really antsy and anxious, and I had the same reaction to myself: Why are you freaking out already? You've handled so much worse than this, how is THIS making you go stir-crazy?
The huge difference between now and eight years ago is what's going outside of the quarantine bubble - the insane, apocalyptic pandemic. I know that's stupidly obvious, but it made me realize that it's not necessarily the isolation that's upsetting us; it's the whole situation. The fear. There's so much uncertainty, so many unknowns, and so much sickness and sadness.
Again, no shit, Allison. Why tf are you even blogging again?
Because as someone who has truly experienced extreme social distancing, I know that there is a way to do this without losing your mind. We need to focus on what matters, and right now, that is our health and the health of others around us, both physical and mental.
While I realize that's easier said that done, hear me out. When I was sick, I spent my isolated months doing puzzles, playing the piano, watching TV, latch-hooking, playing The Sims 3, doing Pilates with YouTube videos, going on long walks around my neighborhood, and most importantly, keeping in touch with all of my friends and family since I was too immunocompromised to be around them. Of course I had times when I was bored, but overall, I really was okay.
So here we are, in the midst of a global crisis, being told to stay at home and interact with as few people as possible. And people are going nuts. But what if we, just, you know, stopped obsessing with what's happening outside of our bubbles for a minute? Like really, why am I constantly checking the map with updated numbers of COVID-19 cases and death counts? How is this benefiting me? I saw some people temporarily deactivate their Facebook accounts. I think that's a GREAT move, one I might make soon. What good comes of scrolling through all of the doom and gloom? In reality, we're at the point in this crisis that what's going on out there is not going to affect what we're currently being told to do: STAY HOME.
That's one way my experience eight years ago was somewhat similar to now; there was no point in worrying about cancer or my treatment or the possibility of dying, because no matter what happened, my doctors were still gonna tell me I couldn't go out.
So next time you feel yourself panicking, stop. Turn off the news. Stop scrolling. Call a friend or family member. Read a book. Bake some cookies. You're not going stir-crazy, you're just scared. And that's okay. But don't dwell on it. Be smart and stay in. But don't panic. We'll be okay. Trust me, I didn't survive cancer just to be taken down by a respiratory virus. Hang in there, we got this! =)
- Allison
P.S. Want something to read? Spend your quarantine reading about MY quarantine! Want something to cheer you up? Here's my playlist of happy and uplifting songs I listen to when I'm sad. In the meantime, I'll be watching all 21 seasons of Law & Order: SVU.
