Writing and Pandemic Anxiety

 

Have you been dealing with a little anxiety off and on the past six months of the pandemic? Do you sometimes look like this sad doggie? I think we have all had periods of being anxious over how long this is going to go on, how we are dealing with work, school, even shopping.

We humans like things to go the way they should, and right now, they aren't. There are a lot of 'what if....?' in our lives. All this uncertainty affects pretty nearly all parts of our everyday living.

This means that our writing world can be affected, too. Back in March, when the lockdown began, I thought that being forced to stay home would give me lots of time to write. Before too long, I suddenly had no inspiration. I thought about writing, but many days that is as far as I got. Thinking about it!

I did manage to write a blog post five days a week mainly because that was a commitment I had made and felt obligated. Actually, it was good for me to have that commitment as it made me write something every day. When it came to writing a new story or essay or poem, I found that I did a lot more thinking than actual writing. I didn't stop writing, just wasn't making use of all that extra time. 

I know that many of you have gone through the same situation in your writing world. Those of you who are working from home spend so much time on a computer that you probably could care less about your writing life by the time your work day is over. Understandably so. 

Is there a solution? Is there a way to make you excited about writing something new? The first thing to do is to work on those anxious feelings. Breathing exercises help. Meditation helps. Counting your blessings helps. Staying in touch with family and friends with Facetime, phone calls, and emails help. I've been attending a writers' meeting via zoom once a week for the past several weeks. Hearing about writing and being with other writers has helped give me some desire to write more than the blog. 

I had days where I felt anxious for no solid reason, and then days when I had no anxious feelings at all. I found that when things started opening up again, and I could go to the hair salon and even have lunch outside at a restaurant, my mood improved tremendously, and yes, I wanted to write. Maybe those anxious days are fading away because I've gotten used to a new way of life. I'll be very happy to go back to the old life whenever it happens.

Someone sent me a small slip of paper, about 3 x 5 that had a pretty floral border on it. Inside that border were these words: Today I will not stress over things I cannot control. I put that paper on my fridge so that I'd see it every day. Very good advice. Remind yourself, too, that there will be an end to this virus. We all hope sooner than later, but meanwhile, we have to do all we can to keep our spirits up. 

For a writing exercise, try a freewrite with any of the following words. It, too, might help those anxious feelings. 

peace

serenity

happiness

blessings

positives

If you're a writer who has not lost inspiration and has continued to write the same amount and with the same enthusiasm, you're a very fortunate person. 

I've been feeling inspired to write lately, and it feels good.