Isolation. Restriction. Vigilance. Anxiety. Aggravation. The soul-sucking misery of unwanted change.
We hear a lot about the coronavirus - its physical symptoms, its medical dangers, the residual effects of severe infection - but we hear next to nothing about the stress of living through an ongoing pandemic. Set the virus aside for a moment. Merely enduring the day-to-day of it all has been extremely hard. The psychological strain? Crushing. And many of the remedies for psychological strain (join a gym, take a class, visit loved ones, get a hug) have been forbidden to us for great stretches of time. This is worth someone's attention, and if the government isn't going to give it any, if the media isn't going to give it any, if Dr. Fauci has his hands full, then I guess we're on our own.
For my part, I'll be advancing this book. It's not about the pandemic. It's eight chapters of what our author rightly refers to as "a mental health toolbox." The topics covered are: dark places, motivation, emotional pain, grief, self-doubt, fear, stress, living a meaningful life. And she tells you right up front to skip to the section you need. The rest of the text will wait. She's also straight about exactly what you can expect from her. No cures available, just the means you'll need to persevere until Life loosens up that stranglehold a bit. This is purely pragmatic stuff. What to do to change how you feel. How to calm anxiety right now. How to respond to failure. The importance of routine. I think my favorite part dealt with self-criticism. It was a simple line at the top of Page 159:
"...if you want a man to get up off the ground, you have to stop beating him."
That's just sort of exceptional, you know?
So five fat, happy stars for this god-send of a book that will remain in my house on a shelf somewhere...possibly for the rest of my life.