Dear Pulp: Socialising and Sleepiness
Dear Pulp is a weekly series where we’ll solve your questions, dilemmas and disasters! If you have something looming in your life or a juicy secret you just can’t help but share (anonymously, duh), let us know via this form.
Dear Pulp, How do I not go crazy from seeing my friends hang out? I know that Australia's cases are decreasing, but it still drives me up the wall to see on social media people I care about all hanging out with each other, in groups of 3 of 4 people at a time that don't live together. I don't know if I'm overreacting or not but it just feels irresponsible and selfish. I'm not sure whether to confront or forgive.
Hello! This is a very valid concern; when we’re all making sacrifices to protect the community from COVID-19, it’s extremely grating to see others being irresponsible. Moreover, when they are people whose welfare you care about, it’s stressful seeing them potentially put themselves in danger. I think you should find a middle ground between confrontation and forgiveness; while this is a serious problem which you shouldn’t let go, being angry at them is unlikely to change their behaviour.
Next time you see a story or post where your friends are flouting social isolation, just let them know that you’re concerned about their health. Say something like “hey! I hope you’re staying safe from COVID-19! I’m so worried about my friends getting it”. Their response will help you work out how to react. If they are dismissive or argue that they’re young so don’t need to worry, send them some information about the extent of the virus and why they should take it seriously. If they’re still ignoring the threat of getting or spreading the virus, I think you’re justified in saying that they’re being irresponsible and you feel uncomfortable about their actions. Don’t make it into a big argument, but get it across that you really don’t agree with them. But if they have a good reason for what they’ve done or seem to take the risk seriously, you can feel OK to let it go.
In the long run, whether you forgive these people is up to you. If you think they’re being unforgivably irresponsible, that is fair, but you could also reasonably decide to forgive them after the crisis is over.
Dear Pulp, I’m always a tired person. That said, iso has truly destroyed my sleep schedule and sucked all energy out of my body. I can’t get out of bed until at least late morning and I spend all day feeling exhausted to the point where I can’t even focus my eyes. I have so much work to do but am finding it so hard to do anything at all. Please help.
I’m writing this answer from bed -- I can absolutely relate to this feeling! I’m going to start with some reasons you might be feeling so tired. Isolation has been making a lot of people tired, and there are a couple of different suggestions for it. First of all, sleepiness can be a result of anxiety and stress. It makes it harder to sleep soundly at night and your body can respond to stress by feeling fatigued or burnt out. Also, the huge disruption to your regular routine caused by isolation can really confuse your body clock.
What to do about it? First of all, try to get out of the house once a day. This is important because it relieves stress, provides some much-needed physical activity and helps provide at least some sense of routine. If you don’t have time to go for a walk or run, still try going outside in order to get some fresh air and natural light, or try doing some exercise at home, like yoga.
Secondly, give yourself a clear schedule which helps to structure your day. Give yourself times to rest and stop working, and try to set tasks for each time slot. Having a routine will help you drag yourself out of bed and will stop uni work or working from home from dragging late into the evening. Having proper breaks for meals is important - skipping a meal will drain you of energy and make you lethargic, while snacking all day can be super distracting.