A Marathon, Not a Sprint
Engaging the Erotic to Make Mutual Aid a Sustainable Part of Your Life
In my last piece, I wrote about how we can prepare, as a collective, to better support the ever-growing number of people who are suffering persistent symptoms of long COVID, also known as PASC (or post-acute sequelae disease). I spoke with a friend of mine, who has lived with a chronic illness for years and who is involved in online disability justice communities. They offered helpful tips that we can all incorporate into our lives in order to reorient ourselves toward a more collectivist mindset, both in our interpersonal relationships, and also in how we understand ourselves and what shifts we need to make in order to truly live our values.
As a therapist, I work with a lot of folks who are similarly committed to mutual aid, either as part of their own cultural practice and political beliefs, or who are newly involved in mutual aid efforts as a result of the pandemic itself. Some have found participating in mutual aid a valuable and indeed indispensable adaptation to the stress brought on by the pandemic, helping them form social connections and mitigate the chronic stress response we all feel during this unprecedented and ongoing crisis.
Regardless of whether mutual aid is something you’ve been raised doing, have long committed to…
