So far quarantine has been no picnic. Personally I am handling it decently. I follow guidelines, I take healthy walks and I am doing pretty good in all my classes. To most it may seem like I am doing great during this pandemic, but like I said it’s been no picnic. I am the youngest in my family, and I have an older brother and a sister. My older sister is in the middle and ever since I can comprehend what mental illnesses is, I know she has been dealing with it.
It hasn’t been easy for her these past few weeks and her normal support system hasn’t been around to help her. My brother has been dealing with moving back home after losing his job during the pandemic and my parents are working from home too busy to notice. I am not blaming them for not being there for her as much as normal cause it’s not their fault nor is it my brothers. I also know that her normal therapist office is closed and is currently trying to do something online. So far I have been keeping an eye on her and doing my best, but I am also dealing with finals and classes coming to an end.
Most days she won’t leave her room, eat, or talk to anyone. She’s not watching TV or even on social media because she says it makes her feel worse. Thank whoever is out there watching over us because she’s only had one really bad incident, and unfortunately I was the only one to hear her during it. It sounded like she was crying from the hallway after coming out of a Zoom class. I walked in to find her room absolutely destroyed and her crying, laying on the floor underneath a blanket. It was one of the scariest things I have ever witnessed because I could tell she was unraveling and she was only going to get worse.
I do not want to get into any more details out of respect for her privacy. I will say in a weird sense she brings out family closer together. As a family we helped get her room back in order and threw her a fun family movie night in her bedroom so she wouldn’t feel alone. I may still not know how to help her as much as I like, but I am happy to support her. This also makes me think about others that may be in quarantine supporting caring for the people that need it most.
Honestly I feel if it wasn’t for my sister in my life, I wouldn’t have this understanding of mental illness and I am grateful she has given life-long skills when it comes to coping with situations.
