At a recent gathering, friends Tanya, Fred, and Monique recounted the various fun little hobbies and endeavors they tried out during lockdown, including attending to their mental health for the first time in their adult lives.
“I tried telehealth therapy since my job was offering it for free,” Tanya said. “It really was cool talking for a while and working through attachment issues I never realized I had. Then I also tried digital painting and baking sourdough! But now I can go to bars again, so, obviously, that’s all over.”
Others similarly skidded around the seriousness and absolute need for mental healthcare.
“Oh my god, I totally did that too!” said Fred. “I was in my childhood bedroom talking about how depressed I felt for like three months straight! But that got a little too intense after a while so I went straight into jigsaw puzzles and video games to smooth the brain.”
Fred quietly stared off into the distance after he finished speaking. Monique had similarly taken up taking care of her mental health as a silly quarantine project, but for her, this was one of the hobbies that stuck.
“I feel you guys, I have been going to therapy for a while now. It’s been over a year!” Monique said. “I guess this is my permanent quirky little hobby now, lol.”
The other two were puzzled by this.
“Didn’t you want to move on to other hobbies? Did you try watching Love is Blind?” Tanya asked.
“Yes, but I had a lot of time. I did some hiking. But therapy really works for me!” Monique replied.
At press time, the other two were quietly sipping their drinks until Fred insisted unprompted that his intrusive thoughts were “definitely gone now”.
