by Melisse Ogilvie, Social Worker
I heard that a crisis often reveals who we are, our true selves.
Many of us are so occupied with keeping ourselves safe, attending to the needs of the persons entrusted in our care (family, staff, country), adjusting our lives, and surviving, that we often do not take the time to simply pause. Pausing would allow us to reflect on the areas of our lives in which we are doing well and identify those areas where we need to develop.
The challenge is to pause and identify what those are. Among them, you might find some of the following positive attributes:
Flexibility and Adaptability
My Pastor once said, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not break.” Perhaps you were able to adapt well to the temporary working arrangements and adjust your lifestyle without a complaint. You have done this for the sake of your life and that of your family. You were able to navigate the technology to conduct your business in a way that you never anticipated. With this ability to be receptive to change, you were not broken.
Coping skills
You have more coping skills than you give yourself credit for. In the midst of this, you have been able to employ coping strategies that help you tolerate the circumstances and minimise the impact on your physical and emotional wellbeing. These may include positive self-talk, meditation on scripture and setting boundaries.
Creativity
Being locked in, alone or with your family, might have given you time to find creative ways to engage, prepare meals and snacks from limited stock. Maybe you have discovered alternative income-generating opportunities. You might also have been able to unleash your creativity in developing a new hobby or rediscovering one.
Alternatively, the crisis might have revealed that you will need support to navigate this season.
We expected that this season has impacted the mental health of people in many ways as they deal with job loss, changes to working arrangements and an overall adjustment to lifestyle. There may be feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and fear although you previously thought that you had more inner strength. Even people of faith may, at times, find that faith wavering.
You may be a person who relies on coping mechanisms that are destructive to your physical and mental health, family, and professional life. Such mechanisms include the use of alcohol, drugs, sex, and gambling. In this season of curfew, you might not have been able to satisfy the compulsion and it has caused you to respond and act aggressively or have periods of low moods.
Maybe this forced time together has exposed relationship flaws that perhaps we have ignored. It might have revealed that our relationships with our spouses and our children are superficial i.e., simply existing with no deep connections to each other.
You can take personal responsibility for how you respond to this by practicing this simple step: Pause, Reflect, Change your mindset.
Yes, you can!
One positive thought, one new habit, one new action at a time, in small achievable goals is the change you need in order to embrace this new normal and unveil a new you.
If you find that you are “breaking,” please seek professional help for your own mental wellbeing.
