Surreal, nightmarish, bizarre, weird, crazy, grotesque, apocalyptic…… Can there be “opportunity” in this? Are we scraping to find the silver lining in a global crisis? It’s true that the COVID-19 Pandemic is frightening, and for good reason. It is a matter of life and death for all of us. We don’t know who may be at risk because there’s nothing you can see. Our enemy is invisible! We don’t even have a timeline to tell us, at the very least, when we will get some relief. It’s like an indefinite jail sentence. For some, it’s even like solitary confinement.
Other losses are rife--school, jobs, finances, rituals, relationships, a sense of security, and of having one’s place in the world; touching someone else and being touched. The externally imposed isolation from others is terrible for humans; we are inherently social beings. We need each other. Feeling scared, alone and lonely, angry, worried, helpless and shaky is normal. But sometimes it can become too much to cope with-- emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
This is a time when, more than ever, TALKING HELPS! We have the Internet and phones to connect us; these are a much needed blessing right now. People have shown tremendous creativity in creating ways to connect. We applaud essential workers from our windows at 7:00 PM; we share music, jokes, videos, and online games we play with each other. There are endless resources on self care. A day at a time, these methods of dealing can sustain us. In the midst of all the overload, some individuals and couples report new learning and new understanding. They are finding pockets of resilience, and making surprising gains.
However, if your efforts seem to be not enough, or if your particular circumstances threaten to overwhelm you, airing your concerns with someone able to listen with compassion and acceptance can make all the difference. People find in therapy new levels of self knowledge triggered by the shock waves of the crisis. Others have no wish to “plumb the depths” at this time but find that saying thoughts and feelings out loud helps them organize their lives more to their liking. Their usual reliable motivation to go ahead with plans for self care have gone by the wayside but the talking has helped them follow through. They report feeling more grounded, solid, and in control in spite of the rapidly changing and scary landscape we’re surrounded by. Feel free to reach out to me to have a conversation about working together.