3 Key Actions to Ward Off Despair

How to get through the winter without losing your mind

Here in the Northeast United States, we are settling in for another cold and lonely winter.

Over the summer our hopes were high that the virus was getting under control. We gathered outdoors, socialized, and thought “maybe the vaccine will end this pandemic.” And then the next wave hit. Now it’s full-on winter and the COVID numbers are skyrocketing. Time to hunker down.

A question many of us are asking: “How am I going to get through the next four months?”

Working from home, minimizing trips into the world, and cutting back on interactions with other people are things we are tired of and hoped we were done with. Now what? How do we keep focused, busy and positive?

I don’t have all the answers but my plan includes the following three activities.

Unless you are a hermit, being isolated and feeling disconnected can lead to anxiety, addiction, depression, and desperation. In traditional societies, shunning is the most severe punishment the community can inflict on a person. Feeling disconnected seems to be a universal characteristic of school shooters.

Every day, in person if you can, by phone, video chat or at least text, connect with another human being. Reach out to someone who might be feeling lonely. Helping others helps ourselves.

Examples of Activities: Volunteer delivering food to the homebound or on a phone bank. Take a class or find a support group online.

If the anxiety gets bad or happy thoughts are lacking, find a word, phrase, list, or poem that you can repeat to yourself or out loud. Look at the sky, your favorite painting, or an object with sentimental attachment.

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