7 Ways to Frame the Crisis: How to Cope with Quarantine Fatigue

It's been 3 months since the lockdown. A lot of us may feel tired, not from the commute or extended work, but oddly from staying, resting at home. I did my research and found out about Quarantine Fatigue.

What is Quarantine Fatigue?

"Quarantine Fatigue is being absolutely done with the isolation, the lack of connection, lack of routine, and loss of the sense of freedom to go about life in some pre-quarantine way that feels unrestricted; it's being emotionally exhausted and depleted from experiencing the same day, every day,"

-- -Jennifer Musselman, L.M.F.T., psychotherapist, USC Doctoral Program.

Rings a bell? That's exactly what I'm feeling right now too!

Being a Gen Y, I'm desperately missing plane trips, long drives, cinemas, Starbucks, ramen, my office, officemates, and my friends.

But what can we do, right? Unless there's a vaccine, we need to keep ourselves safe.

So how do I keep myself sane?

I start by shaping my mindset. As they say,

Mindset affects our feelings.

Feelings affect our actions.

I need to place it in the right frame.

Good thing, I work in a Digital Learning-Training company LJMB Consulting & LJMB Online, I get first-hand access to our "Succeeding Through This COVID-19 Crisis" webinar series. And in our Resiliency 2.0 webinar course, I've adopted these 7 ways (that I use interchangeably) to frame this crisis.

1. God-given Test*. A relevant frame to the religious ones. You may cite characters in the bible who have been tested, and place yourself in their shoes.

2. Learning**. One of my most used frames! Like what Leonardo Da Vinci said, "Learning never exhausts the mind". What's your key takeaway after this crisis? Ask yourself...

3. Game**. A great frame for gamers, sports-enthusiasts, or competitive souls! When you're in the game, your goal is to win. So how do you win against COVID? What's your game plan?

4. Gratitude**. This frame is no stranger to us Filipinos, given our highly appreciative culture. There's a lot of things to be thankful about, so go ahead and list those down!

5. Hero*. For those who love movies, telenovelas, or series! You may relate to your favorite hero movie like Avengers, where they struggled, get beaten at the start yet always prevailed in the end. It's time to make your own success story.

6. Opportunity*. Chinese people write the word "Crisis" using these 2 characters: 危(danger) 机(opportunity) -- where they see 'danger' as a blessing in disguise. What opportunities have you seen in the last 3 months during this pandemic? Did you venture into online selling? Did you reconnect with your family? Or practiced a new skill? What were your new discoveries about yourself?

7. Compassion*. You may not know what each one is going through and even if you feel that you're so burden, there's always someone having it worse. So convince yourself...

And one additional tip to make you feel better? Help others! Psychologists say that helping others makes us feel good.

We can avoid Quarantine Fatigue, and it starts with the mind. Choose your frame! It can be Frame 1 today, Frame 2 later, or Frame 3 tomorrow.

What top 3 frames will you apply first? Share it below!

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Content Sources:

**HBR: You’re Not Powerless in the Face of Uncertainty

*Louie John Banta, LJMB's CEO & Chief Consultant | Follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/louiebanta/