Has Covid 19 taken you out of your comfort zone? Maybe it should.

Going through versus getting over.

We’ve been in this for a while now. Since March 2020, we’ve all been dealing with the effects of living through a once-a-century pandemic. We’re tired of the rules and changes, and we are all eager to regain a modicum of normality in our lives.

It is likely that at least once in the last few months, you’ve told yourself or someone else I can’t wait for things to get back to the way they were.

Healing cannot occur when we are still experiencing the crisis.

Instead, we can focus on what we’re doing each and every day to get through this. Strategies such as awareness around mental health, understanding the importance of social connections, and navigating shifting priorities have helped us tremendously, and will continue to do so.

Throughout the pandemic, people have been reporting that they feel helpless or unmotivated. This is understandable since the whole situation seems  so vast and difficult to come to terms with.

When you are faced with those feelings, you can develop symptoms of depression and anxiety. The weight of it all can make you sad, and you can start to isolate or pull away from social contacts.

The weight of it all can make you sad, and you can start to isolate or pull away from social contacts.
News reports of countries being hit hard by COVID, and the accompanying death tolls, only add to the helplessness. It is critical that you become aware of these emotions when they start to arise.

Do a daily check in with yourself, and if you notice you’re less focused at work, keep skipping invitations to chat with friends, or have let your workout routine slip, its time to take action.

In this case, finding its meaning and purpose during the pandemic is essential. This could be a new hobby like a book club or learning how to crochet. Anything that gives you something new to work on or think about.

Our social connections have changed drastically over the last year and a half. Everyday activities like meeting  a friend in a coffee shop, chatting around the water cooler with your coworkers, and going to dinner with your family have been altered. This has taken a tremendous toll on our social well-being, but even in the face of these challenges, people have adapted.

We now go for socially distant walks, enjoy drinks on a restaurant patio, and even do Zoom happy hours. Restrictions are being eased, yet there is likely still some hesitancy around going back to fully social, and that’s ok. That hesitancy is grounded in safety and security for yourself and others and is serving a purpose. You don’t need to shed it right away.

When big life changes occur, we are often forced to take a second look at our priorities. This can feel uncomfortable at first since we depend on the familiar rhythms of life to guide us along.

In March of 2020, everyone’s lives were disrupted, and we had to rethink our work schedule, our family life, and what is most important to us. Maybe you’ve been able to spend more time with your family since your commute has been cut from 20 minutes to 20 seconds.

Or you’ve planned home theatre nights with your spouse instead of a regular Friday night to the movies. Many people have a very different relationship with technology that has developed over the last 18 months. Whatever you’ve done, chances are you’ve had to reprioritize your own safety, security, and comfort, and that is no easy task.

We’ve been forced to be more creative in deciding activities for ourselves and others, and been pushed out of our comfort zone to do that. This shift  in priorities will continue to help us navigate the pandemic and likely beyond.

The next time you feel anxious about the end of the pandemic, sit with that feeling for a moment and remind yourself that we are all still going through it, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As soon as we get over it, the lessons and positive changes will disappear, and all of this hard work and resiliency will disappear alongside it.

We have the opportunity to craft a new post-pandemic future that wouldn’t have been possible without the difficulties we have collectively faced, and it’s up to us to decide what we want to include in it. Right now, we are getting through it together.

No one knows how long it will take to get over it, but it won’t be for a very long time, and it would do no one any good to rush that part.

Rob Baker, MA RCC