Prague Lockdown and Coping with Pandemic – Inspiration of the Month
We implemented new routines, we perfected our home work stations, we started jogging, biking, and strolling around the neighborhood more than ever, we sewed masks, we joined online lessons, we Skyped, we Teamed and we Zoomed, and we stopped following the news. Congrats guys, we made it! We learned a thousand and one lessons on coping with the pandemic. Let’s take a closer look at them one more time and let me throw in some tips you can try this December.
Focused On: The Biggest Prague Lockdown Changes
We all had to face a huge amount of change in a very short time when the Prague lockdown came. In this Coping with the Pandemic mini-series, I shared my 6 biggest changes caused by the Prague lockdown, how I dealt with them, and some tips which you can try too.
Tip #1 – 9 Inspirational Suggestions from Praguers
I asked how you are coping with the pandemic and what has worked for you, on my Facebook Page and Instagram. Here are the tips you shared:
1. Jamie
What helps Jamie in coping with the pandemic? “Writing fiction. Mostly events from my past from another perspective with stuff altered to make it more interesting. Reimagined.”
2. Daniele
“I enjoy the countryside and go for nice walks and bike trips out of Prague – the best equilibrium.”
3. Krištof
“I support Kavárna Daruma in Prague 2 which is resisting the lockdown.”
4. Heyme
“I’m going absolutely mental making lots of noise, improvising music with my looper and playing on top. Really not enough, but helps a bit. Not doing any online concerts, I think these are horrible. I finished a 2000 pcs puzzle 🙂 Trying to NOT endlessly scroll FB helps too.”
5. Jirka
“What helps me dealing with pandemics is humor, friends, family, working in the office (not from home, that is important), walks/trips, regular daily activities, and of course a wee bit of alcohol. When it comes to creative platforms mostly writing, sometimes taking photos, and rarely drawing 🙂”
6. Felix
“I’m binge-watching this awesome channel about science & futurism. Tickles the brain. 🤓”
7. Kasia
On routine: “Getting up at regular hours, jogging in any weather, everyday meditation, focusing on personal goals. Meeting friends online and outside. Listening to music. Focusing on the positives. Scent candles 😃”
On creative platforms: “Definitely – making songs with three chords that I am not able to record properly! But this will change, hopefully 🙂 Also writing a journal and taking photos.”
On exercise: “Running keeps me alive, but I also want to take the jumping aerobic out of mothballs.”
On learning: “Learning a lot about Czech history and art lately and enjoying it a lot (the only difficulty is that I like to see the big picture, and for that, I got stuck in Ancient Rome). Learning new primitive guitar songs from YT tutorials. And my “favorite” – Excel 😀 “
8. Matt
“This lockdown has been much easier to cope with so far, mostly since it was obvious that it was coming (and, based on the case numbers, needed to be imposed several weeks earlier than it was), so I was able to prepare for it – a fully stocked freezer, a good supply of face masks and a really short haircut 🙂 Regular video chats with friends (and Virtual Whisky Wednesdays) have also been a big help.
For keeping informed I try to follow a variety of news sources – Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, and Tom Walker (Jonathan Pie). Well, the BBC also, but satire seems to be the most useful tool for reminding myself that it is the world that is insane, not me. I also indulge in Keith Olbermann – he rants and raves so that I don’t have to.”
9. Steven
“Online interaction is a suitable replacement for me for socializing. Not perfect but it suffices. With the extra time in my days, I focus on self-improvement and indulging in my hobbies. Daily exercise has been the single most important thing and my mood is noticeably different if I go a couple of days without it. I eat significantly better since I don’t spend so much time going back-and-forth to places as I take time to plan my meals for general nutritional benefit instead of convenience and cook for myself at home.
Honestly, quarantine helped me regain my sanity as I was feeling pulled in too many different directions between university, work, friends, and relationships. It’s been good for me I think.
This video helped me structure, at least mentally, my apartment in a more meaningful way to help cope with the quarantine.”
Interview: How to Keep Sane During the Pandemic According to Marek Navratil
“This crisis has one very positive thing. It gets all of us on the same starting line. I can see that people are more open to adventures. Like, ‘Ok I have nothing to lose so I can…’” SNAP! “‘…start doing this.’” says Marek Navratil, executive search consultant, and psychologist.
Read what his take is on how the people’s stories changed during the pandemic and what tips he has on coping with the pandemic.
Tip #2 – Support a Good Cause – ACORUS
Domestic violence is a big topic this year. “People deal with relationship issues and a lot of people are learning new techniques on how to be together. There’s a big space for a new operational mode of families in efforts to eliminate aggression. It’s important to extinguish any sort of provocation in the beginning,” says Marek. But what to do when you need to get out?
ACORUS is a Czech charity organization. They provide crisis accommodation in the ACORUS safe house for women and mothers with children who are in a crisis as a consequence of a violent relationship. ACORUS runs a Counselling Centre in Prague 7 where they offer legal counseling, psychological and psychotherapeutic help (individual and group therapy). Services are provided free of charge and anonymously.
Currently, they are looking for resources to cover the running costs of their Counseling Centre in Prague 7. You can help by providing them with a one-off donation or by setting up a standing order for a pre-determined amount each month from your account.
Coping with the Pandemic: Where Can You Get Help? The Expat’s Guide to Therapists in Prague
The uncertainty of the pandemic can increase anxiety in some of us and in some cases lead to depression. Have you had enough? I prepared a list of specialized centers and English speaking therapists in Prague that you can reach out to if you feel like talking to someone.
Tip #3 – Meet Tyna, the Therapists Tyna
I’d like to introduce a mental health professional that I know in person, respect, and recommend contacting if you need to sort out some things.
Kristyna Schejbalova
Tyna works as a soft skills lecturer focusing on communication in all forms, conflicts, and stress management and she’s a therapist at regional Addictology Ambulance for children and adolescents in Ústí nad Labem (Drug-Out klub). She loves people, dogs, and nature.
What was her most important project of 2020?
“From a career point of view my new job at Addictology Ambulance for children even though addictology is not new to me I didn’t study it at university – so it was a lot about self-educating 😊. From a personal point of view, it was moving from Prague to Ústí nad Labem and starting a new life in a new city. And of course, surviving two lockdowns and this pandemic, trying to avoid self-destructive strategies like lying in bed, watching Netflix all the time, eating pizza, and getting drunk – half successfully :D.”
What’s her plan for 2021?
“Well, there are few… I and two other amazing women are planning new seminars focusing on addictology topics from everyday life, I’m preparing for university entrance exams for psychology, and I’m planning a house of my dreams with my boyfriend, Daniel 😊 … and I plan to stay healthy and happy.”
What’s her New Year’s message for you?
“Be kind to yourself and others. Enjoy the normal things such as family visits, walks in a park, smiles, etc. And of course, don’t be harsh on yourself – it is ok to rest, do nothing, sometimes, and to feel down (and if it lasts too long, don’t hesitate and ask for help, that’s ok too 😊)”
You can reach out:
✉️ kristyna.schejbalova@gmail.com
MUSICAL UNICORNER
This is the last Inspiration of the Month on the blog this year and since the year was pretty tough on all of us, we deserve some reward. I’ve got a musical treat for you from three Prague-based artists.
Nicco Lupen
This new track by Nicco made me feel like I’m in the ’80s, chilling with friends playing an arcade game, and then I saw the video, and holy cow that’s trippy!
Nicco is an Italian musician based in Prague who self-produces mood-based tracks that fall outside genre labels. Hit PLAY to go down the rabbit hole:
Klez Brandar
You might remember Klez from my interview earlier this year. This July he released a punk video clip with “a slight touch of skateboard”. I got a great kick out of watching the video with its entertaining story from the beginning till the end. Think Alice in Wonderland… with a mohawk…, on a skateboard,… in the Žižkov tunnel.
Marley Wildthing
Earlier this year Marley and I were talking on the blog about her music video No Room that premiered in May. Since then, Marley decided to learn how to make her own music videos.
Here is her latest video, live and solo with a looper. Even though she wrote this song a while ago, she just recently started playing it again and the song should appear on her first full album coming out in 2021. “It’s rather slow and introverted, but also somehow relieving to me whenever I play it… I hope you enjoy it too.”
What’s Up
The next topic of the blog and the series of posts coming with it will be in the name of inspirational, feel-good Prague stories that will make lemonade out of the 2020s lemons and will send you to 2021 excited and ready for new challenges and opportunities.
Thanks for reading about coping with the pandemic, let me know on my Facebook Page if you have any feedback. And if you don’t wanna miss the next post, subscribe below and follow my Facebook Page.
Do you miss one resource that is tailor-made for expats living in Prague and will address Covid-19-related issues without an unnecessary fluff? I got you! Here’s a Prague Covid-19 Guide that I prepared for you.
In this guide, I will show you how to navigate life in Prague during the pandemic if you are an English speaker.
We will cover all essential topics, and you will get quick access to information on:
How to keep up with what’s going on if I don’t speak Czech?
Where to get reliable and up-to-date information?
What to do in any COVID-19 induced situation?
On top of that, I share how I dealt with the most common day-to-day situations that have changed during the pandemic and offer a couple of tips you can try too.
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