Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
-Desmond Tutu
Wow is there a lot going on right now- in the world, across the US, in our home state of Texas, locally in Flower Mound, and at home as well. The two biggest stressors right now seem to be the rising COVID-19 numbers and the push for kids to return to in-person learning next month. It’s overwhelming (along with a whole slew of other feelings and emotions).
So, what can you do when you’re still holding on to hope (sometimes by a thread) that things will get better, but also feeling fear and anxiety knowing if you’re not careful hope for the future can very easily turn into hopelessness?
First, allow yourself time and space to feel your feelings, how ever big or small they may be at this time. You may also need space to process what feelings actually came up for you. Journaling or talking it out with someone you trust such as your partner, a friend, a therapist, etc. might help too.
Where did you expect your life to be right now? I bet it’s very different than where it’s currently at given the pandemic along with all the other stressors life tends to bring our way. Let yourself grieve the loss of where you thought you’d be in life at this given moment.
Acknowledge the anger that may be showing up, but also try to figure out what’s going on below the surface of the anger. Are you really feeling fearful of something? Is it really sadness that’s showing up? Maybe grief? Another feeling?
Finally, focus on your personal needs so you can take better care of you. This might look like:
- Adding in more self-care to your daily routine
- Concentrating on creating deeper conversation and connections with others
- Processing what’s been going on with a therapist
- Add more movement and exercise into your life
- Eating a healthy diet
- Getting more sleep
- Scheduling in more (or some!) alone time
- Make time to feel your feelings (and cry if you need to cry)
- Allow time to zone out/distract yourself through reading, watching Netflix, listening to a podcast, etc.
You get the idea! To close, the better you’re able to fill yourself up and take care of you, the better you’ll be able to be present and supportive with those you love most in the world.
