Summary: This article speaks to the challenges that healthcare professionals and individuals have faced during the pandemic. It highlights the contradictory messages and suggestions that have been given, leaving many feeling stuck and overwhelmed. Despite the hope of vaccines, the article points out that rebuilding the boundaries and returning to normalcy will take time.
Takeaways:
🏠 Stay inside to keep safe, but recognize that not everyone has a safe home.
💻 Working online can be draining, be mindful of your health and well-being.
👥 Support nurses and other healthcare workers who are facing overwhelming situations.
📰 Stay informed, but be cautious of the impact it has on your mental health.
💪 Remember to take care of yourself while helping others, your well-being matters too.
😔 Acknowledge your feelings of despair, but seek out ways to find a sense of hope.
⏳ Rebuilding and returning to normalcy will take time, be patient with the process.
🌱 Find balance between going outside and staying connected, but remember that not everyone is able to do so yet.
💡 Seek out positive and helpful suggestions, but be mindful of those that may not be beneficial.
🌍 Recognize that the pandemic has changed the way we live, and that new boundaries and norms have emerged.
They said stay inside, it will keep you safe
They said go home, assuming we had one
They said get online, it will be the same
They said stay inside, but some were not safe
They said work online, but our eyes grew drowsy
from companies capitalizing on us inside.
They said support nurses, and we tried
overwhelmed we watched as they cried
They said keep track of the news,
as death tolls kept on rising. Then
they said do not give into despair,
But it was everywhere.
Our despair made people richer
We were stuck.
Despising the news we heard
Keeping us frozen in fear
They said do your part to help others,
But who was helping us?
They forced us inside where the world is smaller
Voices quieted as we smothered within
They said we were doing so well –
we weren’t.
They said keep in touch with loved ones
but we weren’t allowed to touch them
They suggested we meditate, do yoga, and read
They suggested we stay calm, but don’t smoke weed
They suggested and suggested and suggested some more
unhelpful suggestions made trying a chore
Some hope came from a silver needle,
Yet life was still not as it was.
Boundaries eroded are slow to rebuild
Cheap shortcuts now keystones for how we live
Now they say go outside, it’s good for you
Now they say get offline, it’s making you anxious
Now they say leave the house, still assuming
Now they say go outside, but
so many of us are still stuck
Inside