JEEPNEY PRESS Richine Bermudez

Pandemic Blues by Richine Bermudez

It has been two years now since the pandemic started. The experience was not easy. Surely, it drove everyone nuts.

Before the pandemic, I thought I knew the meaning of melancholy, I thought I have already experienced being down and low, but I was wrong. The pandemic taught me that there is a worse feeling than that: the Pandemic Blues.

What is it? This was the same question I asked myself. Before discovering this new word, I used to feel down a lot. I experienced staying in bed for the whole day and did nothing. Planned something in the night, but ended up not doing it the following day because my body did not just let me. I even thought I was depressed and had no hope. When I was sad, I’d treat myself to shopping online, and the next thing I know my bills were over my monthly limit, thus caused me another reason to be down. This pandemic was not easy, not at all.

Then one day, I watched this interview on You Tube and they mentioned and talked about Pandemic Blues. I was so surprised that everything they said, their stories, and their experiences were like mine.

In the interview, they did not mention the cure, the solution to the problem, or how to not to have it. They did not give any advice on how to avoid it.

So, how did knowing about this help me?

Knowing the problem helped me to control myself. It helped me not to overthink and conclude without any basis. It helped me realized that I needed to balance myself to not be eaten up or be overwhelmed by this feeling. But how?

As cliche as it is, I study the word of God, the Bible. Some may raise their eyebrows and think that it’s not true; that in this modern world, someone can’t cling to something that is known to be “corny” and old style. But it is true! I have a regular schedule of bible study and a regular schedule of worshipping God.

Having this schedule and being rm to not to miss any of it helped me see the reality and understand why these things are happening now, thus helped me avoid being anxious and unstable. Most importantly, it gave me hope and strength to be prepared for the things that are yet to unfold.

Shopping, planting, going out, or talking with friends also helped me, but the e ect was not as refreshing as studying the bible and cultivating a strong relationship with God.

I respect everyone's individuality and opinion and I’m not trying to impose anything on anybody; I just thought of maybe sharing how I keep myself buoyant in this drowning situation would inspire others to try what has helped me and see if they will experience and have the same joy and happiness I get from it. After all, it’s free and very accessible. And it’s promoting the thing that we all need and want: a peaceful and happy life!

May we all be joyful in running the race of life and be victorious in our battle with this pandemic. Worse is yet to come, but having a strong faith will help us be saved and have a magni cent life, a life that does not include “ Pandemic Blues”.

Richine Bermudez