My sister Emily is a Physician Assistant specializing in mental illness and its treatment. She recently made me aware of a phenomenon known as the “Echo Pandemic”, the idea that Covid-19 is clobbering us mentally, causing widespread fear, anxiety and depression.
Like the virus attacks the body, the Echo Pandemic attacks the mind.
She explained there are three main components to the Echo Pandemic:
Financial instability and concern: People are furloughed, unemployed, and less financially stable than ever before. And since financial concerns rank among our highest stressors worldwide during normal times, it’s unsurprising folks are losing sleep over money these days.
The fear of death: Mere mortals, we are. We’re born, we age and we die. I believe a certain Disney movie calls this the Circle of Life. However, Covid has caused young, otherwise healthy people to face their existential dread earlier than they would have liked.
Isolation and loneliness: People who are single and live alone have been hit hardest by the depression hammer. Loneliness and feelings of isolation are off the charts. I’m not suggesting those who live with others are spared pain and suffering, they just naturally have more socialization than those who are solitary.
As if Covid-19 wasn’t enough, we have to deal with his particularly nefarious cousin. We’ve become paralyzed with fear, plagued by inaction. We’ve put our lives on hold.
What a world, what a world.
F.O.M.O. on the grandest scale
We humans are haunted by thoughts of the future. How will my life be different in ten years? How will it be the same? How will I be different in ten years? How will I be the same?
We tend to think in absolutes. If I’m not living my dream as a freelance writer, I’ve failed. If I’m still working my hum drum corporate job in five years, I’ve failed. If I’m not married with two children living in a sprawling home in the countryside, I’ve failed.
We have this vision in our minds of what life should be. And ironically, this vision is often not ours to begin with. It’s an amalgamation of what our friends, family, and social media prioritize. And the fact we might miss out on this “dream” terrifies us.
It terrifies us into taking the safe route. Into taking that promotion at work instead of branching out on our own. Into staying in that toxic relationship instead of finding a better one. Into accepting ourselves only for who we are at the present moment, unable (and unwilling) to change, grow, and reach our full potential.
We fear we may not accomplish a fraction of what we set out to do. We fear we may not become the person we were meant to be.
And as such, we fear dying. Because death before achieving our hopes and dreams signifies the ultimate failure.
It is this fear that cripples us from finding meaning in our lives. We’re so busy childproofing life’s hard edges we forget about doing fantastic and inspiring things. We’re so busy ensuring our survival we forget to look up, to find our place under the sun.
By living in constant fear of death, in constant fear of failure, we’re avoiding life.
We’re not living at all.
“You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief.”
We live in difficult times.
Everyone and their mother has repeated this ad infinitum these last 12 months. Covid-19 and it’s effect on society is real. The Echo pandemic is real. I too have been touched by loneliness, anxiety and fear. I’m only human, just like everyone else.
But I’m not going to let these unfortunate circumstances rule my life. While we may not have complete control over what happens to us, we arein control of how we react to what happens to us. We make the choice to be derailed by life’s events or not. We make the choice to take the safe route or not.
We make the choice to live in fear or not.
Do not fear death. Life is beautiful because we’re doomed. Any moment could be our last. When I’m running through the forest on a warm summer afternoon, sunlight streaming through the trees, a soft breeze at my back, I often stop and say a quick prayer…for this experience is promised only here and now. And it becomes much more beautiful.
Do not fear failure. Failure means you’ve tried something meaningful. You’ve poured your heart and soul into something that matters to you. You’ve made yourself vulnerable, and only when we make ourselves vulnerable are we able to truly experience something great, something unfiltered, something of tremendous value and significance.
I’ve failed in business. I’ve failed in relationships. I’ve failed in lots of ways, many times over. But in the ashes of every failure rises something new. New experiences. New learnings. New ways of doing things. New doors that wouldn’t have been opened if it wasn’t for previous failures.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Because eventually you will succeed. And it will all be worth it.
I’m visiting my grandfather in Southwest Florida this week. A far cry from the howling winds of Chicago in late February. There is so much beauty here, so much light, so much warmth.
So much life.
To be human is to be flawed. To be human is to be imperfect. To be human is to fear death, to fear the unknown. Don’t let that stop you from taking risks. Don’t let that stop you from striving for something better each and every day. Don’t let that stop you from learning as much as you can as often as you can.
Don’t live your life in fear.
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