Change

Photo by Erik Mclean

Change is difficult for me. When the pandemic hit, change happened swiftly and from every imaginable angle: sheltering at home; not going to the office to see clients; not able to see (and hug) friends and loved ones; upending of daily routines. Then my wife decided to cancel DIRECTV. And for some reason, this was what broke me. I was originally on board. I shouldn’t be watching so much news anyway. But I found myself really missing my daily ritual of watching CNN and connecting with my new group of pandemic friends: Anderson, Don, Sanjay, and Chris. Suddenly not having these guys around felt like a loss. This one little change was all it took to set me off. I cycled through feelings of sadness, worry, and irritability, which felt ridiculous until I realized what was going on. Sure, it was a minor change. But change it was. My wife's decision to cut the cord had also unwittingly snipped one of the tethers I had put in place to structure my pandemic days.

It doesn't take much right now for any of us to feel untethered. It's okay to reach for comfort where you can find it. Daily routines--as silly as they may seem to you--can serve as touchstones during this time of uncertainty. My wife found a way to stream CNN live and I'm happy it's back. When I'm watching it now I'm thankful not only for the familiarity of the on-air personalities but also for serving as one of my coping skills during this pandemic. We all need our daily comforts right now. I'm pretty sure Dr. Gupta would agree.