COVID-19 making bodies and some minds unhealthy

It is getting ugly out there with the probability it is going to get worse.

With all indications the COVID-19 pandemic has not remotely peaked yet in terms of those infected, the calls for zero travel and nor leaving homes is almost inevitable.

Yes, the numbers of COVID-19 deaths continue to add up across Alberta and Saskatchewan.

If there’s something to thankful for is that with the self-isolating and the all but mandatory bans of travel for nonessential services, the pandemic has been more concentrated in larger urban centres like Calgary, Regina, Edmonton and Saskatoon. The southern regions of Alberta and Saskatchewan have near the lowest numbers in each province.

The physical dangers COVID-19 has presented are obvious. Those thinking is some sort of hoax should listen to the concern of those watching China, Italy and Spain. Look no further than the United States where projected numbers are fluctuating upwards of over 200,000. Large cities such as New York may run out of ventilators.

COVID-19 has definitely put a spot light on what has become a social problem which we didn’t realize: we don’t know what to do with ourselves except to complain.

Easy targets are government, which for policy wise reason, should be scrutinized without personal disdain for individual politicians.

Worse yet, we are coming to the realization of a lot of issues we have suffered from, have been masked. Now because of a lack of distractions i.e. the smothering of musical and theatrical entertainment, sports events/television, socializing in large numbers, personal problems we face are coming to ht e forefront.

With extremely uncertain personal finances now being a serious issue, personal problems like low self esteem, lack of creative and critical thinking plus our not having the resources to or just the lack of understanding on how to effectively address personal issues are creating larger social problems.

Economic and lack of employment pressures are making people act out aggressively and becoming desperate. Emotion such as pent up frustration and aggressiveness due to boredom or financial panic is overtaking common sense.

Police reports of (street) racing, fighting, mischief and break and enters are now piling up. As a society, we are being conditioned for this type of ‘venting’. The “who-cares” and comedic attitude we have of violence or mental cruelty towards one another is mind-boggling. We are laughing because there are cartoon memes about smothering each other due to having spent too much time together in “social distancing”.

The memes, gifs and texts which refer to people disliking and in some way fighting with each other isn’t healthy.

Social media, while in some cases is useful and educational in getting out informative details about what’s going on in the world, is also a haven for hatred.

Message boards are filled with insults and threats… who won’t blink when hammering on that keyboard. Everyone is smarter/tougher/braver than the next person.

Anyone who has an idea not of their own will get trampled by the skilled keyboard warriors.

Frustration has clearly set in. We somehow need to get a different mindset of focusing on what we can improve as opposed to destroying someone else.

Stress has a way of making you not see what you should be thankful for, yet we are not.

These are tough times undoubtedly. When people have worked hard all their lives and find themselves unemployed or having to shutter a business, it is difficult to process, especially if they have been unofficially quarantined to their own homes.

No matter how challenging life gets, be thankful you have one to fight for … it will be that much more satisfying when the economy eventually recovers.

Ryan Dahlman is the managing editor of both Prairie Post West and Prairie Post East