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