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You May Not Be Writing — And That’s Okay
Most of us are in some level of quarantine right now, and QuaNoWriMo has become a thing.
“You have all this extra time to write.”
Well, I’m here to tell you: It’s fine if you aren’t writing.
Really.
It’s fine if you aren’t writing any more than usual. It’s fine if you’re writing less than usual.
Because we’re going through something called collective trauma right now. All of us. And it really sucks.
What is Collective Trauma?
Collective trauma is trauma experienced by an entire community. It’s the trauma that comes from things like Hurricane Katrina or the Paradise fire.
Collective trauma produces symptoms like rage (how about the guy who tried to drive a train into a hospital ship?), depression, denial (the virus is a hoax), survivor guilt (It’s not fair that I still have a job), anxiety (this is never going to be over).
Just to make things even more fun, physical symptoms of trauma can include lethargy and body aches…which can make you think you’re coming down with the virus (if worried, take your temperature. Trauma doesn’t cause fever).
And this particular trauma is all the worse for being ongoing. And a lot of us are…