The world we live in has many challenges. How are you managing the stress? Some of you might say, ‘what stress?’ Others are paralyzed by fear. Between world unrest, campus protests, the rise of anti-semitism, and the political divide, and not to mention the pandemic we went through, it has had an impact on most people to some degree. This article is not about making a statement on any of the challenges, but instead a mental health check-in.
How has your mental health been impacted since covid and all the changes around you? Have you been drinking more? Eating your feelings? Have you noticed you are more easily agitated in general or especially when driving? Or have you started taking better care of yourself by working out more or doing yoga or meditation? There is obviously much we have no control over however there is much we do have control over; our response to it all!! For those of you familiar with the Serenity Prayer from the 12 Step Programs (such as AA), that captures it so beautifully…
God (or whatever you believe in) grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.
This really helps us to gain perspective and letting go of that which we cannot change or control, can be liberating. Think about a time when you experienced this. When I was in my 20’s and commuting to the city for graduate school, I would take the bus. There was one day when the bus was in extraordinarily more traffic than usual. My anxiety began to rise…and rise. This was before cell phones and I had no way of contacting my professors or anyone that I would be about 2 hours late. After I wrestled with all the ‘what-if’s’ in my mind (eg: What if this affects my grades? What if I can’t graduate on time? What if the world blows up as a result? Because you know how creative our fear-based imaginations can be!) So, I finally took a deep breath and surrendered to the fact that I had zero control over the traffic and when I would arrive. I recall feeling relief and a sense of peace when I simply (but not easily) let go.
So how are you holding up? If you find yourself having good days and tough days, that is normal! If you find yourself constantly listening to and reading the news, notice your anxiety level after you’ve done so; it has probably increased. You can choose how much social media to scroll or how much tv or podcasts you watch or listen to.
Here are some helpful tips when living with the amount of trauma, anxiety and stress around us:
Limit your viewing/listening to social media and/or news to no more than 20 minutes per day.
Exercise daily!
Meditate!!! There are many apps you can download on your phone such as Calm, Simple Habit, Insight Timer that are wonderful!
Listen to or play music regularly.
Talk with friends, laugh with friends.
Get into therapy. Having a safe confidential therapeutic space can truly help us grow and evolve.
Read anything that brings you comfort.
Pray-if this speaks to you.
Work on being in the here and now!!! It is all we have!!! (Living in the future brings anxiety, living in the past invites depression and being here and now gives us peace.)
Create something! Paint, write, build something..anything! Tapping into our creativity allows us to feel more at ease.
Feel free to reach out if I can be of any help!