Irritable? Can’t sleep? We react to pandemic’s stress in many ways, experts say
Over on my literature blog I wrote about how the current health emergency has made it difficult for me to read and write: Reading & Blogging in the Time of COVID-19.
Many people are writing similar pieces about how the situation is affecting them. Here, from my local newspaper, is an article about what a couple of experts have to say about how different people handle stress differently, along with some advice on how to care for ourselves as well as others.
The Tonic of Gardening in Quarantine
Just as people experience stress differently, they also find comfort differently. One activity often recommended is gardening. Here, in The New Yorker, Charlotte Mendelson explains how gardening is helping her cope in these unsettled times:
What all gardeners know, and the rest of you may discover, is that if you have even the smallest space, a pot on a window ledge, a front step, a wee yard, there is no balm to the soul greater than planting seeds. Watching them begin to sprout, checking far too often as the firm yet fragile stems break free of the soil, the dry seed-case caps, is a joy so strong you can feel it in your knuckles.
6 Indoor Gardening Projects for *Any* Size of Home
And for those who live in small spaces, here are some indoor gardening suggestions. The one I found most intriguing was a link to an article about how to create a vertical garden (not that I’m actually going to do it, mind you, but the thought piques my imagination).
Need to Cure of Case of Cabin Fever? Try Backyard Birding
Maybe you prefer birdwatching to gardening. (I know I do.) According to this article, “A 2017 study from the University of Exeter found that being able to see birds around your home may reduce levels of stress, depression, and anxiety.”
The article itself is short, but it contains links to several related resources.
Dispatches from a Pandemic
This is a portal to several articles by writers for The New Yorker. There’s a wide variety of topics here, so you’re bound to find something to interest or inform you.
A Force Outside Myself: Citizens Over 60 Speak
I learned about this site from Ron Charles’s weekly Book Club newsletter for the Washington Post. Here’s what Charles has to say about this site:
I’ve been alarmed by some of the “reassuring” rhetoric around the Covid-19 crisis. The worst example came last month from Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who sounded like he might push grandparents into a pit if it meant the rest of us could start shopping sooner. . . . In response, McSweeney’s has started publishing a series of short statements called “A Force Outside Myself: Citizens Over 60 Speak” . . . Their pieces are haunting, sobering, sometimes witty, always achingly sincere.
Fran Lebowitz Is Never Leaving New York
“The writer on growing old, life in quarantine, and the sadness of seeing her city shut down.”
Here’s an interview with Fran Lebowitz, “one of New York’s most distinctive personalities.”
At age 69, she’s in the high-risk category of people over 60. When asked how she feels about being in this category, she replied:
One thing I’ve absolutely noticed about myself, and which should be true as you get older: it’s not that you want to die, but you are less attached to life. You’re less panicked. I’m not very panicked by this, and I have friends who are. They’re
© 2020 by Mary Daniels Brown
Retreading for Retirement 