The Presidential Election, COVID, Dating And The Holidays: Oh My!
By: Sara Knick
Tags: Dating, Covid 19 Crisis, Covid 19, President, Holidays

I’m from the USA, which means that we’ve been bombarded with Presidential Election news and coverage as well as COVID news and coverage. The state where I’m from has been classified as a state that has had more than 420,000 confirmed COVID cases. As of today, California has millions of people in their state that will be subject to new coronavirus stay-at-home orders because of their climbing infection rate number. As there are changes that occur, there will be differing restrictions and guidelines to follow. When will it end? We don’t have the definite answers.

Singles out there want to have relief and feel good after all of the ups and downs of this year, but the unknowns of what the new president may or may not do, the unknowns in getting the coronavirus on a personal level, how to approach dating and the holidays coming up leaves them isolated to a whole new degree. There are a lot of fears and uncertainties that singles are facing. Singles want to feel safe, but are left questioning everything and this makes dating difficult with the added stress and worry about getting COVID.

The political and societal climate has changed to something that has been previously unknown before. This time of year is usually a sigh of relief because there are family plans involved and get togethers as well as things to look forward to, but now it is suggested to do Zoom calls instead or to stay at home. Isolation makes it excruciatingly difficult to feel good about connecting to people or even to potential partners in dating.

There is a lot of time that has been created for introspection. Introverts have a better time dealing with this than the extroverts. The feeling of certainty in what we are doing is created from doing what we know is best for ourselves. Following COVID guidelines and creating trust in ourselves to do the right thing is important to navigate through the unknowns.

There may be specific things going on that create frustration for our situation and what has impacted it. Dating can already be a difficult process, but when you add a shaky political climate, societal difficulties and the holidays, you are looking at a situation that seems impossible to get through. Look at what you have control over. You have control over social distancing, wearing a mask as well as sanitizing. You have control over how you handle the dating process even though there may be increased reluctance to actually meet in person at this point. Look for new ways to enjoy yourself and reduce stress. I suggest using a journal to write down what is going on internally while listening to music.

In the dating world, you may encounter an increased lack of trust. There may be people that do not have trust in themselves or have a reason to trust others at this time. It may seem more difficult to earn another’s trust in the dating world.

As long as we stay connected to our intuition, seek fun and enjoyment, look for the good things in ourselves to keep us calm and have trust in ourselves and our abilities, we will get through this difficult time. The unknown can be scary and we are in unprecedented times.

Fixating on the unknown and letting it control our lives leaves us feeling out of control. Feeling in control of our health and our personal lives will help lessen the feeling of chaos from our surrounding environment. In dating, we should always do our best to feel safe and happy with the decisions that we make. There may be changes to how we go about dating and connecting to others (more scheduled phone calls or Zoom calls before meeting), but all of this is within our control. Keeping calm, having healthy control of our behaviors and actions as well as using our intuition to make the best choices for ourselves is the answer at these chaotic times.