What was called "Corona times" six months ago is now permanent. And with the corona pandemic, we lost our good mood – right?
A few days ago I was in the car, a good song was playing on the radio, I turned it up and sang along. Crooked, but still beautiful, because it felt good. A warm feeling spread in my chest, which somehow seemed familiar and strange at the same time. Like an old friend you used to know well, but haven't seen in a really long time. Or the taste of semolina, which you have suppressed yourself for 20 years, but which your palate recognizes immediately. I was in a good mood.
Like a shy deer, it stopped in the sudden light of the headlights, only to hide again in the protected bushes after a brief shock. Gone the idea, that's it again. I stayed behind. With a realization that made me think, and yet uncomfortably unsettled: good mood seems to have become a rarity for me. That is not nice – but somehow not surprising in view of the global situation in recent months.
Corona stole our whims from us.
So the short height was not followed by any depth. Instead, I feel like the corona pandemic has stolen both of me. I have been swimming in a murky sea for almost a year, the bottom of which I cannot see any more than the nearest shore. I've stopped frantically looking for an island, but I'm too exhausted to panic paddling before the next storm. I let myself go, from wave to wave.
Well, this doesn't sound too bad. Nevertheless, anyone who has ever dealt with the human psyche knows that the lack of emotions is rather unhealthy. So it's time to talk to my best friend, who is conveniently a psychologist. But before I can complain to her, I get a voice message from her:
"Today was a really nice day – actually it would have been perfect, but still there are so many little things that annoy me. Yesterday I was still in such a good mood as I haven't in ages, which I only noticed then."
We're not doing badly. But we're not doing well either.
Well, I've believed for a long time that our bodies and heads are sometimes synchronized. In fact, I'm writing about this phenomenon because I don't think it's just the two of us. Rather, I have numerous such conversations in the days after the good-mood escapade. Everyone has the same consensus: we're not doing badly. But we're not doing well either.
The world is still turning a loop while our globe stands still.
Although this is not good news, it gives us a positive feeling at first: Phew, we are not alone with this. Corona takes the ups and downs of our lives. That's not nice, but normal when you consider that we just lack the basis for all anticipation. Concerts? Vacations? Family meeting? Porcelain painting course? Whatever usually makes you happy – it's falling away. At the same time, I believe that my negative feelings are also slowly becoming overwhelmed. A new negative record every day? Rising Deaths? Overloaded hospitals? Waves my grief tiredly – we had it yesterday.
In general, an enormous amount and unbelievably little is happening in our lives at the same time. The world loops while the home globe stands still. And our mood levels off somewhere in between. Kind of makes sense.
I don't have a plan to escape from the emotional monotony. But while we are all floating around in our rather stormy seas, we can at least benefit from the swarm intelligence – and help each other by talking about it. Or write. Sing too, if you like. Ultimately, we humans all strive for individualism, but in the end we experience similar feelings. And then we look for a boat to sit in together. At a distance, of course.
One last note: Just because we are all grappling with a difficult situation does not mean that we have to deal with it alone. If you find that your negative feelings are getting out of hand or you find yourself in a vortex of thoughts, don't be afraid to seek professional help. Special telephone hotlines have been set up for Corona where you can talk to therapists about your worries. The telephone counseling is also there for you 24 hours a day.