Changes as a result of COVID-19
I thank Dr. Nasrallah for his editorial “During a viral pandemic, anxiety is endemic: The psychiatric aspects of COVID-19” (From the Editor, Current Psychiatry. April 2020, p. e3-e5).
I appreciated the editorial because it got me thinking about how the pandemic has changed me and my family:
1. We are engaging more in social media.
2. I feel uncomfortable when I go to the grocery store.
3. I feel better when I don’t access the news about COVID-19.
4. My children need physical socialization with their friends (sports, games, other activities, etc.).
5. My children function better with a schedule, but we find it difficult to keep them on a good schedule. Our teenagers stay up late at night (because all of their friends do), and they sleep in late the next morning.
Here are some positive changes:
1. Creating a weekly family calendar on a dry-erase board, so the family can see what is going on during the week.
2. Creating responsibility for our older children (eg, washing their own clothes, cleaning their bathroom).
3. Eating most meals as a family and organizing meals better, too.
4. Playing games together.
5. Cleaning the house together.
6. Getting outside to walk the dog and appreciate nature more.
7. Exercising.
8. Utilizing positive social media.
9. Getting caught up on life.
Again, I thank Dr. Nasrallah for writing this editorial because it led me to self-reflect on this situation, and helped me feel normal.
Doug Dolenc
Westfield, Indiana
Disclosure: The author reports no financial relationships with any companies whose products are mentioned in this article, or with manufacturers of competing products.