Navigating through the loneliness

The scorching heat and endless terrain of sand represent the threatening nature of a dessert. Arid landscapes deprived of vegetation make survival seem difficult while a desert’s temperature oscillates drastically from too hot to too cold, demonstrating its unpredictability that can make anyone feel anxious.

Scorching sun, dry sand, and uninhabited land; that is how we describe a desert’s harsh reality. The world we are thrusted in right now parallels all too well with a dessert. Lonely, isolated, with no end seemingly in sight, making life seem harder and harder can have a debilitating impact on a person’s mental well-being. As the pandemic rages on and isolation remains a priority to limit the disease’s spread, disruption of normal life continues which is preventing youth from engaging with their peers, teachers, extended family, and community networks.

What happened in the past five months have left us all feeling cut off from the world despite binge-watching entire shows, taking classes online, and video calling our closest friends. It is a break from our routine life which has led us to appreciate the busy schedule juggling work, studies, and the chaos. This social isolation has resulted in a serious mental health impact on the people, especially those who have had active social life pre-pandemic. During isolation, infection fears, boredom, frustration, lack of necessary supplies, and financial loss would lead to increased risks of negative psychological outcomes. The pandemic has squandered the hope of many recent graduates to secure jobs while online learning has forced many students to sacrifice opportunities they would have had during in-class learning.

Like a desert’s silence, emptiness, and monotony the imposed isolation has produced the same environment in our hearts and minds. Coping through them will be a challenge, but a challenge that can become less daunting with help. Seeking help for an internal sense of mental and emotional chaos perpetrated by a cause beyond our control can guide you on what you can do to improve your situation.

After all, braving through the harshest climate has taught the Bedouin tribe to not only survive but thrive in a dessert. The desert puts you through an immense trial but one where, at its conclusion, you can gain a reward. The pandemic will eventually come to an end but in the meantime it is important for us to learn how to mitigate the stresses that come with it and learn how to transition back into our normal routines.

So, join us on Thursday, August 13th at 11:00 am-12:30 pm as we reroute our way from this isolated life to routine in the second event of the series COVID-19 Diaries. Our mental health professionals will guide you in coping up with the Mental Health impact that this abyss has had on you and how you should re-transition to routine life with a healthy and happy mind.