Maintaining Mental Health During Social Distancing: an RfRx talk with Dr. Darrel Ray
A chance to refocus
Submitted by Jenna Chiles
I’m writing this post from the future. Well, not exactly. I’m writing a post about a video that was recorded about 7 months ago. It’s almost from the Before Times. Back when we would shake hands, hug friends, and eat at restaurants. Back when I would take my daughter to the public library and let her play with random kids, touch toys that weren’t hers, and exist in crowded indoor spaces without a second thought.
The video I’m writing about happened just as my state and many others started to do “lockdowns” to stop the spread of Covid-19, or at least slow it down so hospitals could handle the flood of patients. There’s a moment in the video when Dr. Darrel Ray even says he thinks this will last 4 months, and I had a felt pang of loss. It’s 2 months past that timeline, and I’m still in lockdown mode. There are people around me who are acting like things are normal, but I’m not ready to act like stuff is normal. I’m following the numbers of infections in my area, and I don’t think it’s safe to act like things are normal. On a scale of freaking out not at all or entirely, I’m still on the ENTIRELY side of that scale. Things have not been *normal* in the Chiles house for over 6 months now, and I’m…
