We don't need self-care tips, we need better corona policy

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Self-care is of little use if one is badly governed.

Photo: Christoph Hetzmannseder / Getty Images

Well, not in the mood either? Yes. But do you know what is funny? The fifth best-selling hardcover non-fiction book of this year (counted until September) is a book against fatigue: »Energy! The healthy way out of the tiredness labyrinth, with a 30-day self-help program «. Why is that funny First of all, of course, it's not funny at all. But a little, because: It's a pandemic, people! That is exhausting! Sure, tiredness and exhaustion were topics before. And maybe the book is good, I don't know. But the healthiest way out of the tiredness labyrinth would be a consistent corona policy at the moment.

Which brings us to the topic. Did you also notice that in the current fourth wave of the pandemic, there are noticeably fewer articles on mental hygiene advice on the subject of "How to get through the crisis!"? I say this as an extremely active consumer of this genre. Write something on the Internet with the title "5 tips for better sleep", "More resilience in 3 steps", "37 baking recipes against stress" and you can be sure that I will read it all, sooner than tomorrow. But the problem is, it doesn't really help.

I'm really against always wanting to see something positive in every disaster.

Crisis as an opportunity, no thanks.

And I'm not in favor of always having to learn something from everything.

Not really.

But as cruel and disgusting as this fourth wave of pandemics is, it brings one rather relevant political insight to light: Self-care is of little use if you are badly governed.

We could be rid of the pandemic by now.

Instead, we are extremely close to the 100,000 death limit in Germany and are breaking all previous incidence records.

There we are now, with our banana bread recipes, acupressure mats and aroma diffusers from the first, second and third corona waves.

And Jens Spahn is still Minister of Health.

You can meditate as much as you can when someone is sitting at the top who is working on your ruin.

Nothing shows the limits of self-care as clearly as the pandemic: Of course we can all go for a walk, bathe and do mindfulness exercises. It's only useful to a limited extent if at the same time we have a government that sets the priorities of the pandemic policy in such a way that the economy is doing as well as possible, anti-vaccination campaigners don't get too angry and children are properly contaminated. Of course, "Self Care" was originally a good concept for survival - but in the meantime it has become the worn-out panacea that you only have to get enough of and then you somehow get through tough times. But what if not?

"Work-life balance" in a pandemic would mean that the government and employers do everything they can to ensure that you do not get a virus in your work that endangers your life.

And not: that you declare your bedroom a smartphone-free zone or go jogging during your lunch break.

Because self-care in capitalism is what philosophy would call a "necessary but not sufficient" condition for a good life.

So: Should be given, but alone is not enough.

And not only that: It is quite tedious trying to practice caring for yourself and others when at the same time politicians are actively working on the opposite.

more on the subject

• Corona patients in intensive care units: "We had breakfast for the vaccination bonus" By Viola Kiel

• Health Minister Jens Spahn: The relegated Kevin Hagen and Veit Medick

• Reasons for Germany's corona collapse: The lifesavers can no longerBy Cornelia Schmergal

Even before the pandemic, "resilience" was the magic trick with which one should maneuver oneself out of a crisis. Honestly? I can't hear the word anymore. Resilience is broadly the psychological term for "coping with problems." Important property, of course. Relatively banal. But, here too: Revolution would bring more. "Resilience" is a sensible concept in theory, but in practice or in popular advisory literature it has become the cold-hearted, neoliberal sister of self-care. Where Selfcare says "take a bath, have a cup of tea, have a massage", resilience says: "If you have a crisis, grow on it! Problems are thorny opportunities and you are a lazy pig. Don't cry. ”Sure, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not very much.

If care is individualized and political irresponsibility is to be balanced out by personal responsibility, then it has to go wrong in the long run. You can see that very clearly now in the pandemic: the liberal basic idea "everyone has to see how they get through" doesn't go that far when you have a common problem. But it also applies beyond the pandemic: What if it is not at all natural that everyone always sleeps too little and is chronically stressed? And: Perhaps the solution to back pain is not to take a back course in addition to the 40-hour job, but to reduce the standard working time to 30 hours? Perhaps the solution to neck tension is not the 90-euro pillow, but a competent Minister of Health? Just a suggestion!

My thesis: About 80 percent of what we want to achieve with mindfulness, self-care, resilience advice and sleep hygiene measures should actually be solved politically - with politics that puts health before profits. That doesn't mean that you don't have to do anything yourself to keep yourself healthy, of course. But didn't we want to find sustainable solutions?

Every goddamn advisor has had a “gratitude diary” for the past few years: “Keep a diary in which you write down three things you are grateful for every evening.

Even if it is only a little thing, it changes the way you look at your own life. «Why always so frugal?

Gratitude diary, the new version: keep a diary in which you write down three problems every evening that you owe to the current political situation and that you would not have in a better society.

Even if it is only a little thing, it changes the way you look at your own life.