Anxiety. You either have it, know someone who has it, or are on the verge of inducing yourself into it because of this quarantine through self-isolation and incessant preoccupation concerning matters that are realistically,

Beyond. Your. Control.

Anxiety - A vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some
(usually ill-defined (A delusion?)) misfortune.

We’ve all felt anxious about something in our lives. Especially when young, inexperienced, and have not yet been struck with any of life’s tragedies (And if you’ve never been struck by tragedy, count your blessings because you will be struck one day, and it will hurt). During our longer than expected self-isolation, it’s the norm to feel anxious about something.

“When will this all end? Will I get my job back? What if I run out of money and can’t buy any more pizza pockets?  How will I pay my mortgage? What if I get COVID and die? What if my cat gets COVID and dies? What if I die without ever having visited the Disneyland in Orlando? What if my wife’s cheating on me with the amazon delivery guy while I’m out doing groceries???”

“I’ve got a package for a Anita Dong?.... Is Anita home?”

Anxiety at the end of the day, stems from a lack of trust that everything is going to be ok.

Aren’t you looking at all the windows across the streets of Montreal and seeing rainbows with “Ca va bien aller?” Well… Those cute little posters are probably painted by some toddlers who are under the impression that everything is going to be ok, EVEN IF IT’S NOT!

Even though everything may not be ok now, those kids are probably in a healthier state of mind than you are. Why?


Because they delude themselves. They’re not looking at reality, they don’t even know what reality is.

And I don’t say that in an attempt to demean anyone, if anything, I say that as a type of praise for the innocence of children.

Here are all the adults worrying about their bills, and jobs, and revenue, and promotions, AND CAR PAYMENTS, AND RSVPS’s, AND MORTGAGES AGGHHH SO MUCH STRESSSSS!!!!
Meanwhile little Tatiana is colouring some rainbow in the other room listening to “Baby Shark” on YouTube saying to herself “Ca va bien aller!”  Omg. Too cute.

“THA VA BEIN ALLAY?... la crème glacée??”

You may be superior in intelligence to a child, but are you too intelligent for your own good? They say Intelligent people are more depressed, have less friends, and often suffer from some form of mental illness. So, who’s the intelligent one now? You, with all your senseless suffering, or some toddler.. laughing by herself in her room coloring in between the lines of a rainbow?


In order to go the 12 rounds (Because this COVID quarantine is a 12 round fight which will most likely turn into a trilogy) you kind of need the same level of self-delusion as a child.

Rituals, routine, and structure can do wonders in order for you to distract yourself enough to a point where you too, are laughing and clapping your hands at colorful rainbows.

So today, I want to share 5 rituals (that are seemingly insignificant, but posses the power to delude yourself into doing good for yourself) you need to incorporate in your life in order for you to retain your mental health, through means of self-delusion.

Ritual – A prescribed procedure for conducting religious ceremonies.

*Treat these like religious ceremonies. *

1 Exercise

More than enough studies have been done on the importance of exercise. Constant repetitive movement over a certain amount of time is a great way to turn your brain off. Breath rhythmically, get out of your head, and into your body, even if it’s just a walk.

2 Cook

Seriously, learn how to cook. No boxed, canned, or prepackaged bullshit. Like really cook. Buy a chicken and learn how to cut it up, marinade, and smoke it. Get some ground meat and learn how to shape hamburger patties. Buy fresh leaf vegetables, and make yourself a salad. Don’t know how to turn on a stove? Use this site, it will teach you.

3 Read

Now is a great time to delve into large novels. Yes and I recommend fiction over nonfiction, because you have to focus on creating an imaginary world that doesn’t exist. Let COVID, quarantines, and a world of Ai infested robots take over our jobs, in the outer world, while we lose ourselves to a book through getting in touch with our inner world.

4 Learn a language

If your French, learn English, if your English, learn French. It’s the least we can do for one another in order to come to a mutual understanding of the different worlds we come from. English people want poutine, French people want… uh… what’s the equivalent of a poutine in English Canada?...... Yeah! One of those… whatever they are.

5 Say thank you

Start saying thank you before going to bed every night and every morning upon waking up, even if you say it to a figure of your imagination. Say it. If you are physically in Canada, were born here, or have residency, consider yourself incredibly lucky. Seriously, we are in a very good country.


Focus on the day to day, and don’t look too far down the line. You’re not entitled nor guaranteed to live 3 years from now. In fact, you may end up dead from COVID 3 months from now. Give thanks that you even have a life now and take it a day at a time. Focus on your rituals every day, with no desire to an end. Fall in love with the process. Just do them. Enjoy them. Enjoy life itself.