In the year 2020, the United States and the world have gone through unprecedented changes in our lives. Many people work from home and now many more are doing so because they had no choice. Working from home can have many benefits if you’re prepared for the challenges.

People who are self-starters, have good organizational skills, and are great communicators find it rewarding to work from home. Those who need the constant social interaction of others to motivate or encourage the completion of their work, find it harder to adapt to working from home.

The Coronavirus has presented many challenges. Least, not the necessity of working from home. For those who are unprepared, a range of emotions has emerged. Have you ever felt…

Depressed… Anxious… Fear…

Feelings of Isolation and the Inability to Interact…

Lack of Human Touch…

Longing To Get or Give a Hug…

Wanting To Express Your Emotions

Many of these emotions can lead to additional problems like mental illness. Even for the self-confident person, who does not mind the independent working lifestyle, the pandemic has presented special challenges with loneliness rising to the top.

Many are using programs like Zoom to have visual contact with colleagues, friends, and family which is one way of maintaining a visual connection and even though we can see, talk, laugh, share, etc, the one thing missing is…

The Human Touch

More and more we are discovering how much we miss communicating with the power of touch and that creates anxiety and feelings of isolation. Before this pandemic, the U.S. was becoming isolated because our communication skills were dwindling to interactions using text messages. One blessing of this pandemic is we now realize that the behavior we took for granted has helped us to appreciate the ability to touch. Because it took away touching, I believe we will all appreciate the blessing of getting to give a hug.

It has not been fun to wear a mask, social distance, and lose the personal contact we have enjoyed forever. We must protect ourselves because it is not just the social isolation that we are grieving. People today are scared because they do not know what the future holds and some believe there may be more danger on the horizon.

This grief is called “anticipatory grief” and it can be paralyzing too many.

If you worry about upcoming dangers or procrastinating finishing a project or glued to the news, it only increases your fear. Every anticipated worry about the stock market, someone sneezes or coughs or not eating for fear of the virus produces thoughts that could paralyze you and hurt you mentally and physically. Many who become isolated from such thoughts turn to alcohol or drugs just to mask their fear, but thinking like this could harm you.

Do not feel alone. We all are unsure of what tomorrow brings. The Bible even tells us this truth. Getting angry about things you can’t control, over time, will manifest as grief. Every time you become unsettled, get riled up, lash out because of non-sense reasons like you are out of cooking spices, yell at your spouse, or become frustrated, you are building stresses dangerous to your health. Realizing that no matter what happens, you are only responsible for your actions.

One way to cope is to affirm your feelings. Know you are not alone in the anxiousness about your current situation. Right now in the U.S., there are over 20,000 others out of work, but the virus is getting under control and the country plans to open back up shortly. Things will be different for a while, but getting better. We will all be cautious for a while, but eventually, we will be better than we were before this pandemic began. In the meantime, stay hydrated, eat as healthy as possible, and get plenty of sleep. Realize that most of the news is negative so monitor the time you spend watching such programming. Most of the network news is not about truth, it is about ratings. It is their job to keep you anxious so, don’t fear, you will be okay.

If you feel you are not getting better, if you cannot express yourself or connect with others out of fear, then call a professional therapist and get some help. You are worth it!

As we continue to self-quarantine, I suggest you keep busy doing things you always wanted to do but never had the time. Now is the time to complete those tasks. Sitting and watching the talking heads on the news channels will do you more harm than good. You might try what I do to be a good steward of my time and that is to reach out to others you have not talked to in a while. Check on them to make sure they are okay. Sometimes just hearing your voice will make them and you feel better. Some people text, but I recommend that you Skype, Facetime or Zoom because you can see others outside your four walls and they can do the same to help each other feel less isolated. We are also watching funny shows on cable, shows like “The Andy Griffith Show”, “Mash”, I Love Lucy”, and “Hallmark” will keep you smiling. Laughter is good for the soul. You will be okay!

In the comment section below, I would love to hear some of your favorite shows and other ways you are keeping busy.