For many social life has been abandoned, jobs have been lost (in some cases due to morally bankrupt companies abandoning them, for example G1 in Glasgow and Britannia hotels in Aviemore among others) and people an uncertainty that is not comparable to anything we have seen for generations.
It has been met with some ridiculous behaviour. The UK & Scottish governments reacted with all the pace of a snail climbing a small hill. Schools & nurseries are closed to most children (I had to try and explain to my three-year-old that she wouldn't be going to nursery for a while, that was absolutely horrid because she can't grasp the severity of the situation). Idiots are hurling abuse at doctors and nurses, people who are doing everything they can to help look after our health and wellbeing after a decade of seeing their resources decimated in the name of austerity. People are ignoring advice regarding social distancing with many revelling in their arseholery. Others are stocking up on toilet paper, kitchen roll and hand sanitizer (which is way less effective than washing your hands), fighting over these commodities in order to make sure they're alright and fuck everyone else one month after we were all saying #BeKind.
Whilst it has brought out the worst in some, almost to the extent that when this storm passes we could dedicate a Hall Of Shame, it has also brought out the best in humanity, with tremendous acts of charity, compassion and community abound. It has reminded many that it is important not just to look after one's self, but also each other. We're not islands, we're not separate despite all those trying to separate us, we as humans are connected and feel each other's pain.
Having said that, it is extremely important to look after ourselves. These uncertain times can take a tremendous toll on our mental wellbeing, and I personally have felt my anxiety and depression being exacerbated by the storm of uncertainty we are trapped in. But storms pass. They can leave us feeling battered and weary, but it won't last. If you need help to get through the tempest there is nothing wrong with asking for it, be it talking to a friend, a doctor, a counsellor or whoever. The storm will pass, and in the meantime we have to find our way to dance in the rain.
Whatever platform you see this on please feel free to message me if you want to. Please look after each other. Keep being wonderful and wash your bloody hands.
Fuck it and fight it.
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