It is World Mental Health Day 2020 (10 October) and there is a huge focus on the impact of Covid-19 on our mental health.
Imagine having a time machine and jumping back in time to January 2020 and telling yourself what was ahead. It would have been incomprehensible. Away from the obvious direct implications of a pandemic, there have been many other impacts such as isolation, boredom, toilet roll shortages etc.
We have all experienced the pandemic differently, but we have all been part of this shared experience. It will continue in to 2021, and for all the talk of a new normal, there doesn’t feel much normal about it at all. There are so many elements that could be discussed but one that I find fascinating is how different people have approached the need to stay in more and the call to action to... not actually do anything.
Working from home, as many people have been, and limited socialising has meant we have all been at home more than ever before. For some, that has been a pleasant experience, for others it may have been an unpleasant experience if home is not a safe space. For most though, we have had to entertain ourselves more. We have had Netflix and online Yoga classes. We have had Zoom quizzes and virtual house parties. Many have read more, taken up new hobbies or rediscovered old ones. There have been many innovative ways to fill our time. There almost as much of a panic to fill our time as there was to buy toilet rolls in the early stages of lockdown. In the early days of lockdown there seemed to be an urgency to fill our time as much as possible.
Perhaps the need to fill our time was because the situation had given us all more time to think. To think about the wider wider situation and how little control we had over it. To think about how ill equipped we were to deal with a pandemic. To think about how it may impact us in terms of health or finances. It also gave us time to think about our own lives beyond the context of Coronovirus. Time to ask if we are happy with who we are, what we do. More time to reassess our priorities in life. More time to check in on ourselves. For many people this would have been a positive experience, making them embrace what they have and not take things for granted as much as they perhaps had been. For others though it may have brought in to focus things that they want to change in their lives. Perhaps realising they want to embark on a new career, or need to improve their fitness, or finally stop smoking, or boost their confidence.
Everyone has their own situation to deal with but if you have found that the additional time to think has led to you wanting to make some changes then hypnotherapy can help.
To find out more about how I can help and hypnotherapy online. Get in touch for a confidential free consultation to find out more about hypnotherapy for anxiety.
Malcolm Struthers Hypnotherapy - Online and in-person in Dumfries & Galloway
Comments