You don’t have to be okay right now.

Sooo.. how’s everyone doing? Totally normal, uneventful month, right? Haha yeah right.

I don’t think anyone added “global pandemic” to their list of things to conquer in 2020, yet here we are.

COVID-19 has hit us hard, and life as we know it has changed, at least temporarily. I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel like it happened really fast. I think back to just a few weeks ago, and while we knew this new virus was a serious pain in the ass, no one would have predicted that the world would be shut down and we’d all be stuck in our homes.

We had to adjust really quickly.

There are so many circumstances in which we have to pivot at a moment’s notice, but they’re usually confined to one area of our lives. A vacation is canceled, but you can still vent to your co-workers about it at your desk. You’re going through a break up, but you can see your friends, eat a lot of baked goods, and dance it out on a Saturday night. You’ve lost your job, but at least you have your housewarming party to look forward to.

But right now, a lot of people are feeling like everything’s gone.

That doesn’t happen often. I actually don’t think it’s happened in our lifetimes (collectively, at least). That’s a lot to adjust to, which is the biggest understatement of the century.

And yet, we see a lot of people shifting like it’s seemingly no big deal.

There are posts on social media about people just throwing on their sweatpants and transitioning to Zoom meetings seamlessly. Virtual happy hours have replaced those at your neighborhood bar and Netflix has an option to watch movies with someone who isn’t in the same room as you. Who needs theaters anyway? Whatever, just another (slightly different) day.

It’s okay if that’s not your experience.

Like I said, this is unprecedented and it happened FAST. Oh, you’re not doing well after everything fun is canceled, your friends and family (and you!) are in danger of getting this virus that no one really understands, and you’re stuck in your home indefinitely? Shocking!

If you aren’t doing well, if you need a minute, or you haven’t fully processed what just happened to all of us: that’s FINE.

Some of us are struggling and we need to talk about that more. This is a public health crisis because of what the virus can do to our bodies, but also because of what this will do to everyone’s mental health. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but people weren’t meant to stay cooped up inside without human interaction. For someone who lives alone, they may go months without touching another human being. That’s crazy, and we aren’t built for that.

So let’s keep talking about the wins and when things feel manageable (or even good!) – but we also need to share our struggle.

This is hard. It’s really hard. There are a lot of messages out there about supporting each other and coming together and that’s amazing. But in order to do that, we need to be open and honest about the full spectrum of emotions that we’re all probably experiencing at one point or another.

Let people know you aren’t okay when you aren’t okay. They can give you the support you need, or know they aren’t alone if they’re struggling too. That’s how we really can get through this together.