Diaries of an Anxious Student: Entry 1

Over the past few weeks we’ve had to change the way we function as a society, changing with it the way we interact with people and content around us. Productivity has taken on new meaning, with many people assuming that staying at home means that everyone must have lots of free time. Scrolling through my Instagram feed I constantly see my friends post about ‘millionaire mindset’.

“Now is the time to get new skills.”
“Now is the time to start your side business.”
“Now is the time to do everything you’ve been planning.”
My personal favourite is “Now you have no excuses because you have time.”

Whilst this may be true for some of us, and I understand the intention behind providing motivational messages, the reality of the situation is for many this is a period of huge change. People are having to reassess their finances, deal with their mental health, have taken on caring responsibilities within their communities, and are finding ways to react to a global pandemic. Whilst for some this may be an opportunity to thrive, many people are finding ways to survive. In short, not everyone has the privilege of using time as an asset.

So if you’re struggling to get to grips with what's going on around you, find you don’t have the motivation to complete long to-do lists everyday, and are taking each day as it comes, that’s fine. You are getting through this and that is enough.

- Nabeela, 23 years old

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However the pandemic is affecting you, we hope some of these stores will show that you're not suffering, struggling or even feeling anxious alone. We'd love to hear your story too in the hope that it will help someone else, you can write a post for this blog here.