Covid-19 Diary: Autism and Me- Issue 3

Kevin Hanly- Taking it day by day in these tough times

“Who knows what the next couple of weeks or months will look like?”

When I heard last week that this lockdown life is going to continue until May at the earliest, I was thinking how am I going to manage. You go through all sorts of emotions in these unusual times and I find what helps is taking it day by day and keeping the hope.

Easter weekend normally you would have spent it with family and friends however this time we had to stay apart and find different ways of staying in contact. I’m doing my best keeping in contact with my aunts, family and friends. Social media and video calling is great but it’s not the same as being in people’s company. Having family around Ireland and in Scotland I feel so far away in these times and when that day comes where you can physically meet one another will be a great day.

The weather has been great over the last few days and it’s nice to get out to the back garden and enjoy the sun. Still I have days where I don’t feel very motivated because every day is merging into one and I have to watch my mental health because there were low times in the past but so far I’m keeping my head above the water and I do feel strong at the moment.

No one knows what this summer is going to be like. Now with the GAA put on hold my life has just been changed so much and I just can’t take it all in at the moment. It feels like a bad dream or a film but it’s real life. There are scary and uncertain times ahead but one thing I know for certain is we will win against this virus and look back on the time we stayed apart for the greater good so that we can have things to look forward to soon again.

We nearly have another week done so I’m telling myself we are one step closer to normal life!

As the quote goes “tough times don’t last. Tough people do”