With each passing day, the conversation about anxiety, depression, fear, and suicide grows louder. Coronavirus is testing our mental health more than anything in history. Around the world, people are struggling, afraid for their welfare and wealth fare. We are being asked to stay home for our protection and the protection of others without an end date. Globally we are facing our mortality plus confronting the loss of jobs, businesses, routines, and social interaction. And in a short time, we’ve introduced two new phrases to our everyday vocabulary: self-quarantine, and social distancing. It’s a lot to take in!

As a single woman who lives alone following the orders of self-quarantine is challenging and at times the isolation is deafening. On the other hand I have friends who have kids and now they are working from home. Their kids are antsy, and they don’t know what’s going on. How do you explain COVID-19 to the children? And are parents ready to be with their kids 24/7?

In both cases and for different reasons the feelings of loneliness, overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, and hopeless can overcome us like tidal waves. Some people just shrugging their shoulders and are resigning themselves to the circumstances. While others get angry and feel victimized. And let’s face it we’ve all been there, and if not, we will be there at some point during this pandemic. Because the truth is that it’s hard for our minds to pivot and adjust so quickly to this new normal.

However, facing this reality as daunting as it can be doesn’t mean that we are powerless. For those of us that like to stay active, the doers, remember we are doing something by staying home, we are helping to slow down the spread of COVID-19. And in the meantime, we can “multi-task” and shift our focus onto exercising a part of the brain muscle that we don’t always tap into. We can take this time that we’ve been given and self-reflect and discover what happiness really means to each of us. And be specific in what that looks like to you.

This is a pivotal moment in time. We can afford to ask what we want for our lives, ourselves, and our loved ones. After this pandemic, life as we know it will never be the same. And getting in touch with who we are, not what we do, can make all the difference. Be clear on what your intentions are, and how you speak to yourself and to people around you. Seize this moment and see it not for the ugliness that is surrounding us, instead, for the possibilities we can create for the now and future.