So….it’s been a week. Or is it a month? Maybe a decade? With the stranger than fiction reality that has become the norm lately, I have truly lost all sense of time.

 

Everything seems beyond my control. With social distancing and avoiding stores and public places as much as possible; with the news and media narrative engulfed in the statistics of death, illness, and economic hardship; with the constant worry that someone I know will get sick or I will be the cause of someone getting sick --my brain has felt like it has on fire from this epidemic. Frankly, I need a break.

 

And I don’t think it’s just me.

 

I have suffered from anxiety for many years in my life. In the past, one of the best coping mechanisms I have discovered is finding a new outlet or passion to focus on.

In response to the constant anxiety provoking situation we are all going through right now, I would like to open up a space on Citizen Jane for people to provide suggestions on new hobbies they are using to cope: the Covid-19 Carathsis Corner.

 

One thing I have recently picked up is learning more about the natural world around me. I am trying to be more conscious of my surroundings through myriad senses. I want to learn to be truly present and appreciative of the world I have. (Maybe I am becoming a “budding naturalist” :))

 

As part of this, I have started taking walks and utilizing this time to take pictures of the things I see. I am going to share some of them here to start off the space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What have you all been doing? What ideas do you have for new hobbies? Are you baking or cooking more? Share recipes! Are you doing a new type of exercise? Singing? Dancing? Feel free to share what you are doing in any form you see fit. Perhaps your idea will spark a fire underneath someone else’s feet. We all could use it right now.

 

I will add all ideas, plus continue to post my own below the dotted line. If you would like to contribute, reach out in any way you see fit (Facebook, email at dsolinski@fordham.edu, give me a call, whatever floats your socially distancing boat!)

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Under this tab please find a collection of hobbies and distractions