Nah, I simply ain't the anxious kind. It is very simple really. No matter what precautions we take (and we should take as many as we know of), there remain two glitches:

1. Knowledge gap (our own and humanity's)

2. The element of sheer chance

Once we have done all we can, we just have to carry on with life. Nothing is totally risk free. There's always a chance that our roof will collapse on us the next moment. No matter how small that's still a finite chance, and COVID is no different.

In truth the virus will stay around, it's not going to go anywhere just to oblige us. It follows that nearly all of us will get the virus at some or the other time if not now. Most of those who get it will recover but a small fraction will not make it. No problem there, no one lives forever anyway. If I survive, that's cool. If I don't, I'll never know the difference.

I think many people are anxious about the situation and this is normal. Granted, I've been relatively lucky in this situation. I have been working more than usual, the epidemiological situation here has been under control for several weeks, and we have been able to go back to some degree of normalcy recently. However, like everyone, I experienced lockdown, being extremely limited in my movement for a couple of months, not knowing when I'll get to see my family, watching businesses shut their doors forever, and a sense of shock and precariousness.

Here is what helped me cope:

1 Walking as much as I could. If you have the freedom to exercise outside, take it. If you don't, exercise at home.

2 Deliberate relaxation (whether it's pure meditation, ASMR, guided visualizations or hypnosis) that helped me sleep better.

3 Listening to The Happiness Lab by Dr. Laurie Santos. She had some pandemic-specific tips that were very useful to me: https://www.happinesslab.fm/

4 Realizing a lot of what I considered normal was the icing on the cake, so, nice to have, but not necessary, or in fact unnecessary and detrimental to long-term well-being.

@Guyomar I love ASMR!! I will definitely get back to jogging because I love it . We were previously restricted from exercising outside but now we are not so that is good!

It is concerning. The important thing is to stay focused on the future. History shows that over time we'll get back to normal and everything will be okay. In the meantime, I would definitely recommend working on ways to make a location-independent income (for instance, teaching on iTalki or some other means).

@Stella lee of definitely wearing a mask is the new normal and i judge anyone who steps out of the house without one!! If corona becomes a seasonal thing I hope we get a vaccine.