A Re-opening World
Many people are contending with the reality of returning to work or school in person after a full 18 months away. Understandably, this is causing a lot of anxiety.
As we have moved through the various stages of the pandemic and have been on an endless roller coaster of emotions, uncertainty, and resilience, I cannot stress enough the impact this has had on our collective mental health.
Surviving the pandemic is, at its core, an existential issue. Collectively we saw more death, instability, and social and political polarization than ever before. Many people had the opportunity to re-prioritize their lives, as loss often prompts us to do. The daily nonsense no longer seemed important, and instead it became essential to have a meaningful life. To tell people that you love them. To stop putting up with mistreatment at work. To end relationships that needed ending, and start ones that needed to start. To finally finish that project, or to channel your anguish into creativity. To reconnect with our home, the Earth.
It was as devastating as it was beautiful.
This collective experience will continue to manifest in our psyches for a long time to come- there is no world in which we are capable of processing any of this quickly.
I have been encouraging clients not to put pressure on themselves to feel normal, be okay, or even to make sense out of what they have just experienced. It is simply too big, and reflection and understanding will come with time. Instead, here are some tips as the world opens back up:
You’re not on anyone’s timeline but your own.
You don’t owe anyone an explanation for how you spent your time during the pandemic.
Prioritize yourself, now. What does taking care of yourself mean in this new world?
Remember that everyone else is feeling anxious too.
Social skills are just that- skills. They can be learned and re-learned as many times in life as you need.
Maybe don’t work so hard this time around.
Don’t lose the things you discovered while the world was sleeping.
Remember what grounds you. Take time each day to be centered.
Do not sacrifice your joy. For any reason.
Focus more on what you have in common with others. It is the time now for collective healing, and kindness is the salve.
Integrate nature into your life. Mounting evidence shows that reconnecting with the planet might be our only way out of this- more on that another time.
