Social Isolation Diaries #4

I find it difficult to find the motivation to do anything anymore. I’m trying my best to take care of my mental health while in quarantine, but I feel myself slipping into bouts of depression.

It’s hard to stay positive amid such intense uncertainty. And when I get lost in an activity, it’s merely a distraction from the present moment. I cannot bare to live like this for much longer. 

I feel useless and bored, with no real work to do at home, as though my worth is determined by how much I’m producing for the economy. I could do more, but I wonder what that “more” is. If only I could push myself to follow through. 

I can’t help but think that our country’s reaction to the Coronavirus has some parallels with our reaction to climate change. Both of these global catastrophes could have been avoided, or at least handled much better, if the systems set in place were not broken. 

And so the responsibility of making sure the situation does not get worse than it already is, is placed on the individual. Just as we’re told to recycle and not use plastic bags, we’re told to social distance and wear masks everywhere we go. 

People are shamed for not recycling and, in essence, blamed for causing some degree of climate change, just as those who don’t follow social distancing guidelines are blamed for Coronavirus. 

This is not to argue that people should continue to go out, but it is to point out that if our government had handled this situation differently and the United States offered Universal Health Care, so much responsibility would not lie on each individual’s shoulders to clean up the mess.