I’m not a medical professional. I don’t want to give advice on how to sanitize your house or what to do if you get sick (other than call your doctor). I’m afraid I’ll do more harm than good. I’m also not an expert on politics. I’m refraining from going off on a ten thousand word rant about how those at the head of our government have failed us (although that is tempting).

However, I am a writer and what I can offer are two writing exercises that I hope might help you get through these times.

Make A List of Everything You Are Afraid Of: I can already hear many of you right now saying, “I don’t own that much paper.” But I’m serious, just give it a shot. This is an exercise I got from my wife. Rather than have all your fears jumbled up in your head as a mass of anxiety, put them on paper. Seeing them as an organized list might make them easier to face rather than just a chaotic mess dogging your every step. I created such a list this afternoon; getting my fears out of my head and acknowledging them with physical words did help.

Make A List of Everything You Can Control: A lot of us feel like we don’t have much control over our lives these days. That’s a valid feeling. We don’t know what next week will look like much less next month or next year. However, there are some things we can control and it’s important to remember that.

Write down everything you can control, even little things like, “I can control whether I eat soup or hamburgers for dinner.” or “I can control whether I re-read Ready Player One or Wonder” or “I can control whether I walk my dog around the block or across the field.” (Obviously wherever you go maintain social distancing). You might find there are larger things you can control. “I can control how much time I spend on social media” or “I can control how I interact with the people in my household” (although I know that could be a tough one). Some of these things might feel small or petty but if you acknowledge them it might relieve your sense of helplessness.

Obviously, what you do with these exercises is up to you. You can rip up your fears or tape what you can control to the fridge or share these with friends or use them as prompts as short stories. Whatever you choose to do I hope these exercises helped and I hope you are all staying safe.

And I want to close with a very special thank you to everyone who is still going out to work, especially medical professionals. Thank you for all you are doing for us.