I would like to be checked in on while I’m sheltering in place because of the CO-VID19 coronavirus outbreak. To have a person dial on the telephone to check in on me to see how I’m doing. This isn’t often possible for those of us who have flown the coop of the “mental health system.”
In this time of crisis though I’m at least able to talk to a therapist on the telephone which counts more in keeping me going.
Five days before businesses shut down in New York City I had the good fortune to be able to go to Best Buy in person and schedule the delivery of a new computer.
My old computer had crashed. I lost a number of files that couldn’t be retrieved. Luckily in January I had bought an external hard drive for $70 to transfer my folders and documents to.
I lead up with this introduction because it’s worth it when you can afford it to have a computer at home.
My mental health has improved because I’ve started typing up and editing and revising a work of fiction I want to publish.
Every day I sit at the computer working on this novel.
Engaging in the creative process whether it is by writing, sketching or painting, cooking a meal, or decorating your apartment can be a great way to safeguard your mental health.
This was how I healed from an illness: by using the creative process to express myself.
Always I recommend doing what gives you joy to inoculate from pain and hardship.
I’ve begun writing this new novel. I have 7 works of fiction I would like to publish in the coming years.
Writing in a journal–it can be dashing off your thoughts in a spiral-bound notebook–is another great tactic for riding out this hard time.
In the coming blog entry I’ll talk more about using other coping skills in a time of crisis.
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