Although being quarantined in our houses is not something most of us are used to, it’s important that we all find ways to keep ourselves mentally stable in these weird times. I’ve seen on a lot of social media people posting that if you don’t come out of this with a new skill or accomplishment, you didn’t use your time wisely, which I don’t agree with because many people don’t have the time, money, mental/physical capacity, or resources to do this. Comments like this also encourage people to make assumptions about what’s going on in other people’s lives which isn’t productive for anyone involved. 

It is crucial that we all take social distancing and quarantine seriously and do our best to maintain it, but that looks different for everyone. Not everyone can do that in the same way or to the same extent, because this crisis affects everyone in a distinct and separate way. So instead of judging others for what they are or are not doing, take care of yourself because you don’t know their situation. 

All that said, I think it’s great that so many people have been able to try new things and pick up new skills whilst practicing proper social distancing protocol. It’s just that this isn’t the number one priority for everyone, a lot of people have had to focus more on their mental health during this hard time, and that should be supported because taking care of your own mental health needs to be a priority as well.

Humans need to be stimulated, and sitting in your house doing the same thing every day for weeks with the same people wouldn’t necessarily be considered stimulating. So I encourage everyone who can to take part in activities that make you happy, whether it be watching your favorite show, going for a ten mile run, facetiming your friends, or anything in between. Keeping yourself occupied can help distract you from the bad and keep you focused on the good things in life. It has definitely helped me.