Had a scare yesterday when one of my close friends, who is over 70, told me she thought she might have Covid-19. Turns out her handyman’s mother has Covid and he got tested but wouldn’t know the results until today. His results are negative and my friend is in the clear. For now.

That “in the clear for now” factor is what still has me stressed out, as I’m sure it has all of you stressed, too.

Yesterday, when I was full of worry about her, I thought I was coping, but I kept making stupid mistakes. Luckily I was at home, not at work, so they didn’t have any effect on other people (accept for my dog and cat thinking I was crazier than usual). By afternoon I broke down and cried for a few minutes, which made me realize I wasn’t coping well at all.

This morning I got her good news and felt a good portion of my stress melting away. I figured out why a few of the things that had gone wrong yesterday went wrong (due to my foolish mistakes) and fixed them. I saw clearly today what I couldn’t see yesterday in my stressed-out state. And, due to the fact that I am a major nerd, I remembered that adage from Frank Herbert’s Dune: “Fear is the mind killer.” So. Very. True. And it explains so much about the state of our country right now, doesn’t it?

Now, if you’re a nerd like me you might decide it’s time to re-read Dune. Reading is still a great escape from our everyday woes. But if you don’t have time or aren’t inclined to read scifi, then here’s something that will take just a couple of minutes and may help immensely…

Watch Dr. Laurie Santos’ Top Five Coping Tips. Short sweet, and very helpful. You may have recently spotted her on the second episode of the PBS series “Hacking Your Mind”, which I also recommend for those of you who have the time.

Hope that helps. And here’s hoping everyone out there is having a good day and that we have more good than bad days ahead.