How do we stay sane and connected to others in a scary world?
Tags: mentalhealth, discuss, watercooler
Published: 2020-03-16 06:37:19

As all good people know, we have to take the current pandemic very seriously. As the chinese proverb says, the best moment to implement social distancing is three months ago, and the second best moment is  now.

But a bad news never come alone.

# An epidemic of loneliness and anxiety is coming

Vincent van Gogh made this accurate description of people isolated at home, consuming loads of terrible news on Twitter and feeling powerless about it:

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/xblxwbf8zoq24wapgeoz.jpg)


Ok, not really. But there is another more subtle but hugely important area where we need to take care of each other: <i>Homo sapiens sapiens</i> is a social creature, he cannot stand to be lonely and absolutely needs rich human connections with its fellow human beings.

If we don't take care of each other, [an epidemic of loneliness, anxiety and depression is coming](https://www.vox.com/2020/3/12/21173938/coronavirus-covid-19-social-distancing-elderly-epidemic-isolation-quarantine). And this is, by itself, a serious health crisis:

> “Loneliness causes stress, and long-term or chronic stress leads to more frequent elevations of a key stress hormone, cortisol. It is also linked to higher levels of inflammation in the body. This in turn damages blood vessels and other tissues, increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, joint disease, depression, obesity, and premature death.”

The good news is that against *that* epidemic, **we are not powerless!**

# What can you do?

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/2izjrlpyg9aogw11c0va.jpg)
_Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash_

Many things!

Being heroic in those difficult times can be as easy as **chilling out and Netflixing together**.

At the other end of the spectrum, there is going to be a baby boom in 9 months. That's a sane reaction. **Love more**!

**Share cute things**. There is a reason why I have put a picture of my dog in the banner of this article. 

If are anxious right now you don't know where to start, the first thing I would recommend is to **reach out to your family and your friends**. Ask how they feel, listen a lot. Be kind. Ask how you can help. It's wonderful how helping others can make your own anxiety disappear.

**Leverage your geek powers** to empower your colleagues and friends to do meaningful things remotely. In normal times we developers are not IT guys who install Skype and stuff. But right now, yes, we definitely are! The hardest hit populations is likely be the least technologically savvy. But that's not a fatality. Those people have good friends who can do tech: **YOU**.

[Yes, you should write that first post](https://dev.to/jmfayard/yes-you-should-write-that-firstpost-481) and any kind of down-to-earth practical guide on how to something meaningful remotely is more than welcome! Include tons of screenshots - I recommend [Skitch](https://evernote.com/intl/fr/products/skitch)). If you have written one or have noticed a good one in DEV, feel free to advertise it in the comments here! 

**Art is the greatest refuge of the human mind**. Playing music helps me a lot right now. What about you? Is there any form of art you enjoyed while you were young or that always wanted to try? Now seems like a good time to refocus your bad energy in it.

# What have you done and found helpful?

Please share your experience in the comments sections. 

Let's inspire and encourage each other.