When you feel lonely you are always part of a larger group. This group just doesn’t meet up and talk about it very often, which may be part of the problem. This tragic-comic predicament rings especially true for our current moment in time.
Since COVID, therapists of all types have taken their practices online and while many might feel it’s less than perfect, some are discovering that this major change in context and format has the potential to bring about new vantage points and considerations.
You know the saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder? I never really believed in that growing up. I thought if I love someone then I would want to be with that person. However, every time we would spend long periods together, we would end up arguing.
Have you ever wondered why moths and flies behave in this quasi-suicidal way of flying directly into a flame? I have. It turns out that they don’t actually intend to fly into the flame at all: Months and flies have 360 little light tubes in their eyes which they use to navigate with in reference to the vertical light beams from the sun or the moon.
For reasons beyond anyone’s control, we are finding ourselves suddenly faced with the prospect of spending many hours at home. I often day dream about living alone in the the countryside but, importantly, in these day dreams I am always there by choice and never ever is the dream set in my apartment, alone, in Berlin.
I wanted to write an informative text about the psychological effects of Covid-19, but I’m too paralysed by the constant influx of new information and emotions. Instead you will have to make do with a personal essay about how a Danish, German-based therapist is experiencing the situation from her couch. So bear with me while I gather my thoughts in this surreal time.