The COVID19 Pandemic
Pandemic in our culture has called us all to make adjustments physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. We are all affected in varying degrees in our individual realities and situations. As a therapist, teacher, and healer, my hope is to intelligently and helpfully address some of these challenges with clients, friends, and contacts.
The Uncertainty of Change
Change and threat to our familiar ways of life and health are stirring up emotions and thoughts. People are asking how to cultivate inner peace amidst the storm of chaos around us. How do we adjust in the face of very real adverse events causing stress on the health care system, shifting economic and politics of our societies, employment and job changes? What does healthy adjustment look like at home, whether with loved ones, or in solitude? We are now all living through a series of traumatic events affecting all areas of life. The very presence of pandemic makes it a reality that we all face the challenges of adaptation.
How? Some Common Questions:
How do we cultivate resources within ourselves and our environment to ease anxiety and find moments of peace, of connection, of normalcy, of healing? Many of us are asking these and other hard, scary questions that we may have never had to ask before
• How do we affectively manage the fear that goes with uncertainty?
• How do we effectively and healthily deal with the levels of grief associated with the threats caused by isolation and great change?
• What if I lose my home or become hungry, what if I get sick, what if I am sick, what if my loved ones get sick?
• What if death is a reality?
• My dating life is threatened. How will I meet people and connect?
Feeling Isolated
Isolation, at first, can actually aid in reflection and enhance feeling centered and provide a sense of anchoring to self and spirit. However, uncertainty can be anxiety provoking and downright frightening. Given enough time, isolation can lead to pathological levels of loneliness, which can have symptoms of sadness and melancholy, lack of feelings/numbness, distractibility, impulsivity, and others (Mental Health in a Pandemic State: The Route From Social Isolation to Loneliness)
While some may experience loneliness in solitude, it is very possible to experience it while living with a family unit or group. Either requires great adaptation. In both, we begin to crave contact with the outside world of humanity. Even every day tasks like going to the store or salon appointment for your hair seem like luxuries of the past. The majority of the human race needs to be in the mix with their own kind.
What to Watch For
Things to watch for while orienting to the Pandemic are emotions such as sadness, irritation, low frustration tolerance, depressive moods, anxiety/fear, and numbness. People may behave more impulsively or not seem like themselves. The stages of grief will be present as this situation becomes more of a reality in our lives. Kubler-Ross identified these stages as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. These may come in order or not in order, and more than one can be present at a time.
Keys to Success:
The number one thing to begin with in my experience is to be kind to yourself and to others as we move through this. In addition, there is much available advice from countless sources on how to deal with this pandemic and stay healthy. There are many examples on social media and the internet from good sources:
• Keep a relatively structured schedule.
• Limit exposure to the news and do not look at things that may be upsetting before bedtime or first thing in the morning.
• Include spiritual practice such as meditation or prayer; mindfulness exercises such as yoga practice.
• Include physical exercise most days.
• Talk to family and friends daily.
• Engage in hobbies or interests.
• Get outside and feel the sunshine, fresh air and positive energy!
Some other suggestions that might help with emotions and thoughts include:
• Write or discuss times in your life when you have experienced adversity and how you overcame that. What did you learn about yourself and how to care for yourself when experiencing hardships?
• Pay attention to your body. Breathe quietly and allow yourself to experience your emotions, while at the same time not loosing the sense that you are more than the emotions you experience.
• Talk about your emotions and fears with someone safe and connective for you. Putting a curious voice to fears and concerns can help calm your nervous system and shed light on how to move forward with more strength, authenticity, and stamina.
• Become aware of negative thought patterns, such as catastrophic thinking patterns, over generalizing, all or nothing thinking, jumping to conclusions, emotional reasoning (assuming negative emotions are a true reflection of reality). David Burns, PhD is a great source to google regarding these “thought distortions” and how they can affect us.
• Be aware that thoughts and emotions influence each other and can make things seem magnified.
Helpful Links:
COVID-19 Remote Online Support
It is very important you find the right therapist for you, and that you find one who actually does have the training and experience to help you heal. There are many people who call themselves specialists. Look into the training and experience of anyone you choose to help you.
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