Current Events · 08. April 2020

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Worries

Dear friends I haven't met yet,

Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert, but I have been talking to people and observing throughout this pandemic. I am worried, but there are some good things that can come of this.

The Virus Itself

I live in the United States, so things are especially bad when it comes to healthcare. My godmother works in healthcare and several locations of her chain have closed down before our state ever issued a stay at home order, just to concentrate resources like masks into one place. This affects not just people trying to get treatment for COVID-19, but anyone who would need the hospital spots, the equipment, or the time of healthcare professionals in the meantime.

My main concern, of course, is how that affects disabled and at-risk persons. At-risk persons have to take extra precautions in the best of times, and have been coping just fine before now--but now they must worry about something that could take their life. As for disabled folks, as an example, if someone has a caretaker but the stay at home order takes effect, how can they remain isolated if someone has to be coming into their home every day? What about a housebound person who relies on others to get around to grocery stores--if we're self isolating, they must be worried about getting necessities without increasing their risk or the risk of those they care about.

For the long term, I'm worried about the structure of society as we know it. This is fairly US-centric of me, however; we're facing severe collapse of social and economic systems. For many people here, one missed paycheck is disaster, and healthcare is tied to employment, so week before last over 6.6 million lost not only their income, but their healthcare. In the middle of a pandemic. The numbers continue to rise as businesses perform layoffs instead of budget cuts with the more they lose from the shut down of non-essential businesses, and the alternative patronage of essential ones. A lot of the flaws with our economy and healthcare have been covered by others, so suffice it for me to say: it sucks, and I'm worried this pandemic will reveal the flaws and we won't do anything about it.

There's some muddied silver linings to it though. Well-off people are beginning to know what it means to do without due to shortages and business closures. The flaws in the system are being tested, so maybe we'll fix them in the future. And of course, I'm looking for the helpers, and seeing them everywhere. People are coming together as much as ever, just in different forms. I can't go a day without seeing someone online contributing resources to healthcare workers, lots of people sewing and 3D printing resources. I saw someone helping a disabled adult grocery shop that I usually see alone. I see more people than ever reaching out to neighbors, friends, and family to make sure they're okay and have everything they need.

Staying Home and Mental Health

Especially seeing how this is affecting my friends, I'm worried about staying home and mental health--not just for those with poor mental health to begin with, but for otherwise neurotypical people as well.

In my state, as well as others, we have already seen an increase in domestic abuse and violence. What I'm also expecting is an increase in suicide and suicidal ideation as the pressures from the pandemic itself and social isolation affects everyone, but especially the vulnerable. What I've already seen is the lengthening of the effects of seasonal depression--this pandemic is making it like one long winter for a lot of us, and not in a good way. The season brings disease, not gifts.

For many people, myself included, growth and recovery are being slowed. With "normal" life disrupted, we can't take the normal routes to being happy and healthy individuals, and have to learn all new methods to cope and thrive. I've already heard plenty of stories of people violating the stay at home order because of going stir crazy, or at least going outside and encountering other people that got too close. This ties into the decrease in mental health that could increase suicide risks. For a lot of people, the reliance on routine--such as with work or school--is what got them through each day, one at a time. Even essential workers are now on significantly changed, maybe even erratic schedules.

Once again, there is some bitterweetness to this all. For one, other people besides the disabled or mentally ill are feeling how detrimental it is to be housebound. For a lot of us, housebound is the normal state of being for one reason or another, and it's just as bad for us who endure it all the time as it is for everyone else now, in the short term.

There are a lot of people connecting online! I'm especially proud of the teachers who are making the abrupt transition to online schooling and still trying to support their students the best they can. I've seen an increase in my friends checking up on each other online, too.

One thing I'm seeing through online groups I'm in, is that a lot of people are discovering or rediscovering hobbies like gaming (video and tabletop), crafting, fiber arts, or even reading. (It should be noted that the internet archives has an emergency library right now, where anyone can check out a book with no wait times or check out limits, at least for the US. There's also library apps like Libby that let you check out library books for free without going to the currently-closed locations.)

One friend of mine expressed a hope that distance services, like phone therapy, might become more commonplace. This then made me think of how beneficial it could be for more places to deliver in a timely manner; for housebound folk, delivered food and necessities is a blessing, not a mere privilege.

So while this whole pandemic is definitely a bad thing overall, I'm desperately hoping we learn something from all this, and actually do something about it.

PS: A big shout out to Anthony Stone for providing useful links for this article.