6 Reminders When It Feels Like You’re The Only One Staying Inside

1. You’re doing the right thing. Even though you might be jealous (or angry or bitter or upset) about the people who are going out to parties and having fun on weekends like nothing bad is happening in the world, you need to remember you’re doing the right thing. Staying home could save a life. It could even save your life. Even though you might be bored out of your mind and wishing you could break the rules like you see everyone else doing, you should be proud of yourself. So many people appreciate your self-restraint, your compassion, your care for other people.

2. You can’t control anyone other than yourself. You can scream at other people to do the right thing until you’re blue in the face. You can spit facts at them. You can try to talk sense into them. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to listen to you. Even though it’s a good thing to spread awareness, don’t beat yourself up when someone you love refuses to listen to you. You can’t force them to make the smart decision. You can’t make them obey orders.

3. You’re allowed to get emotional. It’s frustrating to know you’ve been doing the right thing while other people have been living their lives normally. It’s frustrating to cancel plans you were excited about, plans that might have turned into a reality if people listened earlier, if they helped get the world back under control. You’re allowed to be angry. It’s hard not to be angry. But you should try to channel your anger into something positive — like voting.

4. You’re strong enough to keep going. Things haven’t gotten any easier. If anything, they’ve gotten more stressful. More frustrating. More alarming. However, you’ve gotten this far. You might be low on energy right now, but you’re going to push through this. You’re going to survive these terrible times as long as you keep doing the right thing, keep following your heart, keep caring about the people around you.

5. You’re not actually the only one. Maybe everyone on your social media has been posting partying pictures — but there are a lot of people who are doing the right thing. There are a lot of people in the same exact situation as you. You aren’t alone in your feelings or in your situation. It’s easier to spot the rule-breakers, but there are so many people who are trying their hardest, too.

6. Everything is going to go back to normal eventually. You might feel like this is a lie because you’ve been telling yourself the same thing since March and almost eight months have passed. But this isn’t going to last forever. You’re not going to feel this trapped forever. You’re not going to be stuck inside forever. You’re eventually going to get the chance to hang out with your friends, to hug your family members, to hook up with complete strangers at bars. You’re going to need to wait a little longer than you originally thought, but everything will be okay again eventually.