Overnight, our homes became our offices, classrooms, playgrounds, spas, restaurants, movie theatres and whatever other function you had to fashion out of four walls. It’s now April 2022 and along with the flowers, new hope is budding. We are emerging from a 2-year hibernation, and we finally seem to have the space to look around and reassess our spaces.
Clearing the physical clutter and build-up can be an amazing nudge towards clearing out the mental clutter and mess that this pandemic has left in its wake.
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Yes, we can gather with friends, attend sporting events, go out for dinner, spend a day at the mall, etc., etc. But these things are not the same as they were post-pandemic. Whether it’s discussion with friends about vaccination status, navigating the anxiety that’s associated with sitting close to strangers at an event, wondering if the sore throat you have may not be allergies after all…things are not “normal”.
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We’ve been talking and writing about change this month and two questions that have come up over and over again are “how do I know when it’s the right time to make a change?” and “how do I know if this is the right change to make?”. Given that these are the questions people are asking, we will endeavor to answer!
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Over the past year, the whole world has been forced to change in ways that have been unfamiliar and unexpected. Each and every person has lived a different version of this but nonetheless, there has been an enormous amount of change forced upon us that we did not choose. And for some, there has been change that is chosen.
Let’s take a look at how these kinds of changes are different from one another.
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When you hear the word grief, you often think of the death of a loved one or the end of a relationship, but with the coronavirus, we are experiencing grief due to the loss of our “regular” lives before the pandemic. We are experiencing the loss of our routines, our schedules, our relationships, our sense of security and safety.
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It’s winter in Canada. Winter is tough at the best of times but winter in the midst of COVID lockdown feels harsh and unfamiliar. Many people are feeling down, stuck, and unmotivated. I know I am. I’ve been working through this ‘funk’ with many of my clients over the past couple of months and together we’ve begun to describe this phenomenon.
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There is a critical and ongoing crisis at Canadian colleges and universities: students are at increasing risk of mental health problems, and these academic institutions are struggling in their efforts to respond. This reality reflects a broader crisis in youth mental health across Canada, which has seen increasing rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among young people over the past decade. And, the pandemic has only made things worse.
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We wanted to share this eye opening article from The Financial Times about their recent global survey about what they term as ‘Generation Covid’. It’s abundantly clear at this point that those under 30 are at more risk than ever to experience amplified mental health struggles. While navigating the normal, expected pressures of life, they have been served a second helping of stress, pressure, and expectation, all thanks to COVID.
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As a psychotherapist I know too well the negative effects of prioritizing productivity over all else. Heck, as a human I know the negative effects of this and how it shows up in my own life. Although life has technically slowed down for some during this time –for many it hasn’t and for most of us it has meant a much more disorganized and hectic day to day. And yet, the pressures we continue to put on ourselves to be productive are alive and well.
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Longing for the things the way they used to be? Find yourself wishfully thinking that you might wake up tomorrow and things will be “back to normal”, even though you are completely aware that’s impossible? Yearning for the physical touch of a loved one that you haven’t been able to hold for far too long? Ever catch yourself engrossed in something and completely forgetting about how different life is for just for a few seconds? Is there that heaviness in your chest or that knot in your stomach that never seems to go away? All of this is grief.
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We’re all struggling to keep things as ‘normal’ as possible for our kids. But, how can we protect them through this crisis when there are things completely outside of our control? Dealing with uncertainty during this pandemic is challenging for most adults, never mind kids. But, there is a way to help our kids build resiliency during this time.
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The good news is there’s a HUGE difference between social distancing and physical distancing. As someone who has worked from home for the last year, I’ve somewhat had to adapt myself to social distancing. The current situation has amplified this two-fold and I’ve realized that there are many things I could have been doing for the last year that would have helped me feel not so isolated. Here are some my tips…
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2020 marks The Canadian Mental Health Association’s 69th annual Mental Health Week. Mental Health Week helps to shift societal beliefs and perceptions about mental health. It helps promote behaviours and attitudes that foster well-being, support good mental health and create a culture of understanding and acceptance. The theme of this year’s Mental Health Week, May 4-10, 2020 is ‘social connection’ and its importance for mental health.
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It has been about three weeks now since the world has been put ‘on hold’. We’ve all been told to wash our hands, practice physical distancing while being socially connected, and self-isolate. We’re all doing our part for the sake of our physical health and to help ‘manage’ the COVID-19 virus but it’s hard and it feels scary to not know what’s coming next. Having to live through a global pandemic is something none of us has ever experienced or could have imagined.
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Stress is present almost everywhere we look – at our dinner tables, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, in our extended families. There are so many unknowns and uncertainties and everyone is struggling to manage in their own way. Children and adults alike are struggling to manage the emotional and practical impact of the worldwide COVID-19 crisis. But there seem to be some key differences in the way that children and adults are coping. I’ve been paying close attention to the way my kids are dealing with our current situation and I’d like to share some of my observations with you.
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Now, having developed a weird sleep schedule, new and rather creative eating habits and a completely upside-down daily routine, I find myself reflecting more and more on the unique challenges helpers face during times where we all, in some way or another, are struggling with the ominous ambiguity of the current state of the world.
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It was just before March break when life as I knew it changed forever. I am fortunate enough not to have lost anyone to the virus and I am not a front line health care worker, or someone who has to juggle raising young children while working from home. I am just one person with an experience to share that I hope brings some measure of comfort to those who might be going through similar things.
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How are you doing? We are all going through so much together in the midst of this global pandemic and yet we need to remember that we are all individuals with different needs, different struggles and different sore spots. Your relationship with YOU is how you’ll get through this.
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For those who already struggle with anxiety, navigating potential global panic can be a difficult feat. This is where we need to be sure we look at the situation with a balanced perspective. Where do we begin?
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