{"id":3448,"date":"2020-04-22T13:57:45","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T13:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/pandemic-paralysis-and-how-to-cope\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T06:30:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T06:30:12","slug":"pandemic-paralysis-and-how-to-cope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/pandemic-paralysis-and-how-to-cope","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic paralysis (and how to cope)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note:<\/u>\u00a0This article was originally published on the\u00a0Happy Academic blog<\/a>\u00a0and has been republished here with permission. The author,\u00a0Kylie Ball<\/a>, is Alfred Deakin Professor in the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University, Australia, and the founder of Indago Academy.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to be a happy academic at times like these. How can one focus on much other than the chaos around the world? I\u00a0post-crastinated<\/a>\u00a0over this piece because everything I thought about writing sounded trite. If you\u2019ve been poring over news and social media like I have, you\u2019ll no doubt have seen many suggestions and reassurances that risk sounding platitudinal. Sure, Isaac Newton may have made some of his greatest discoveries, and Shakespeare wrote some of his greatest works while in quarantine from the plague (maybe \u2018cos neither of them had Twitter or Netflix?) \u2013 but what if it\u2019s a struggle to stay focused on even a mindless task like checking page proofs for more than two minutes? (asking for a friend). Maybe we could be excused from expectations (often our own!) of producing quality academic outputs in the midst of a global pandemic? I spent 40 minutes on the couch yesterday staring aimlessly out of the window \u2013 eventually drifting outside with the vague notion of checking the local supermarket\u2019s toilet paper stocks\u2026 before looking down and realising I was\u00a0wearing my\u00a0Ugg boots\u00a0<\/a>(and not as a fashion statement). I was heartened to read in\u00a0this amusing post<\/a>\u00a0that many other writers also met with disdain the suggestion that now is the time to bunker down and produce works of genius. If you\u2019ve similarly struggled with difficulties concentrating, news overwhelm and anxiety, and aren\u2019t particularly productive right now, IT\u2019S NOT YOU \u2013 it\u2019s an understandable reaction to a horrible situation.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So what can we do?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We can acknowledge this situation, like all, will pass, and there are\u00a0good reasons not to panic<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We can look after ourselves with all the tried and true techniques we know are effective \u2013 exercise (try walks\/runs in quiet parks, workout apps, or\u00a0free yoga on Youtube<\/a>), sleep, eating well, managing stress and stopping endless news\/media stress-scrolling. And of course washing our hands.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We can continue to be kind and foster\u00a0a culture of kindness\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 our relationships, including with our colleagues, are now more important than ever.\u00a0More tips here.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Self-isolation can be hard, and loneliness is a real\u00a0danger.We\u00a0can practise\u00a0physical distancing<\/b>\u00a0rather than social distancing \u2013 celebrating the technology that allows us to keep in touch with family, friends and colleagues virtually, through e-coffees (or e-wines).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We can celebrate and support our colleagues working in medicine, nursing and science (I must admit I cried with joy and pride\u00a0reading about the\u00a0Australian scientists\u2019 breakthrough<\/a>\u00a0in quickly replicating the Coronavirus \u2013 what am amazing time to work in science!).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Resources<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This brilliant\u00a0collection of resources<\/a>\u00a0is aimed at anyone teaching, studying or working remotely including in higher education.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are some good\u00a0tips here for looking after your mental health<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Researchers at the University of Amsterdam and KU Leuven have set up\u00a0a portal<\/a>\u00a0to collect memes about coronavirus, in a study aimed at examining how people communicate and the role of humour in stressful times.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This\u00a0daily schedule\u00a0<\/a>was made for parents\/families in self-isolation, but can easily be adapted for anyone spending extended periods at home.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

** And finally..<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have become a part-time happy academic this year, as I spread my time across my academic job, coaching, and working with a\u00a0fabulous non-profit organisation<\/a>\u00a0doing great things in mental health outreach. While blog posts will therefore be less frequent I\u2019ll still pop up throughout the year. So please keep sharing (e.g. what are your tips and resources for dealing with life right now?), commenting and stay in touch. Take care!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note:\u00a0This article was originally published on the\u00a0Happy Academic blog\u00a0and has been republished here with permission. The author,\u00a0Kylie Ball, is Alfred Deakin Professor in the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University, Australia, and the founder of Indago Academy. It\u2019s hard to be a happy academic at times like these. How can one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2002,"featured_media":33313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2445],"tags":[2711,2703],"new_categories":[],"new_tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-3448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid-19","tag-covid-19","tag-mental-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPandemic paralysis (and how to cope) | Editage Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are we expecting too much from ourselves during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/pandemic-paralysis-and-how-to-cope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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