post-grad depression: it's a thing

I'm done with my undergrad schooling. It's summer of 2020 - the summer I spent years looking forward to. I had hoped to travel (Somalia, Europe, Japan, South Africa, Scotland, Turkey). I had hoped that I would land a job shortly after graduating. I had hoped that the end of my undergrad years would be marked by fruitful days spent doing all the things I did not find the time to do before. Sure, I read the occasional book before calling it a night, I'm slowly re-connecting with friends, find more time now to write, and I now spend more all of my time with family (thank you Corona for that immeasurable gift). 

But some nights I don't sleep at all, some days I feel a rush of energy as I accomplish small tasks on an ever-growing list, other times I feel a slow downward spiral into a dreadful emptiness. There is no schedule to dictate my days, no degree driving me to achieve goals, and to add to all this horrid business, there is no end to the pandemic in sight (a few days ago I woke up to gloomy weather and the headline: "Coronavirus is never going away" - it's a good thing I don't read too much into sensational headlines)  

How to mitigate this? 

The sole purpose of this post is for me to brainstorm solutions. If the days are not changing you, you must change your days (and actively do so). 

1. Set a schedule: start & end your days with a certain activity that you enjoy. I've started running recently and have been consistently doing this every evening. I like to end my night with a book. These are my two markers of a day's closing. My mornings are frankly very disorganized and random. 

The plan: 

•  Start the mornings exploring poetry foundation for 1 inspiring/thought-provoking poem
•  Follow this with an imitation of the poetic style of that poem or write an original 
• Read/memorize 1 page of Quran 

2. Plan one outing for the end of the week. Prior to the Corona era, the work/school week was only bearable because people had the weekend to look forward to. Now that all of our days are spent at home, the weekend has really lost its charm (Saturday is the new Monday). Setting aside one day for a family outing will help me stay grounded through the weekdays. 

3. Set goals even for the things you enjoy. I have a reading challenge on goodreads I'm trying to complete. I find it easier to track my progress (& favorite quotes) on this site. Having likeminded folks on my feed sharing their reading journey helps create a sense of community and can be especially helpful for overcoming Reader's block.

 

I'll start with these 3 steps for now.