Emotions of COVID-19: Not an exhaustive list

by Canada Montgomery

Happy: I’m happy because I’m not sick, because my family is doing well, because I’m privileged enough to be able to stay home and social distance, because I can use this time to relax and think.

Sad: I’m sad because I know people who are sick and who have died from COVID-19, because I’m away from my family and don’t know when I should or will return home to see them again.

Love: I love how in these times of crisis, the profession I so longed to join is rallying against an invisible killer with limited supplies and resources, how family and friends are expressing their love and appreciation for each other even with social distancing, how people are coming up with creative and inspiring ways to contribute and help those in need.

Angry: I’m angry because my community and other marginalized communities are being hit hard.

Anxious: I’m anxious because of the unknown and uncertainty, because no one (not the government or healthcare workers or researchers) knows when life as we knew it will return, because we don’t know what the new norm will look like.

Scared: I’m scared because COVID-19 is a virus and viruses spread like wildfire and I don’t know when or how it will find me, because I could encounter it when a vaccine is finally created, and I gain immunity that way… I could become infected with mild or moderate symptoms and become immune that way… or I could become infected and die from it.

Annoyed: I’m annoyed because COVID-19 has disrupted my medical school education, because life goes on even when you’re social distancing, even when there’s a world pandemic.