Self Care & Self Compassion
Lately things have started to feel like March 2020 all over again; vaccines are just about all anyone can talk about and some pieces of life are returning to pandemic-mode. There is pressure surrounding new variants and increased pressure around the decision to be more careful, not do things that feel “against the rules”. We’ve been hearing the line “unprecedented times” for over almost two years; at this point in the pandemic I want to take a moment to create space for dealing with all of the stresses and pressure. How do you make the best decision for you? How do you make your decision and stick to it when it may feel like there are conflicting opinions or disappointment?
We’ve seen many differences in opinions, increased tension, and gaslighting--among families, friends and colleagues. We are overwhelmed and depleted from having to cope with the stressful situations stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s important to continue prioritizing self-care and practicing self-compassion. The first step is becoming aware of what we’re feeling, even though it may be the very thing we have become accustomed to tuning out.
What are the rules anymore? Know that there are no absolute right answers. We have been hearing the unprecedented times line for over a year, and “the times” are just that: unprecedented. We haven’t seen this before and there is no rule book. No one knows exactly how to handle this and no one knows how to handle it best for you, better than you do.
I encourage you to take a couple moments to sit and reflect on your own feelings about these decisions. Tune out the noise. Analyze these emotions. Sometimes taking a few moments to sort out these thoughts and feelings can be helpful in processing your current emotional state and increasing self-awareness, free of others’ opinions, concerns, and judgements. Therapy can be a great place to get more personalized help to process these thoughts and feelings, build up coping skills, and help you keep moving forward.
At the end of the day, these decisions are about your comfort level and about how you can help those around you. As you’re making those decisions, make sure they are reasonable for your mental health, not just your as well as physical health. They are your decisions, after all! You know you best. As always, if managing this gets to be too much, don’t hesitate to reach out to myself or to a therapist in the Chicago area. Therapy is a great way to get help with your mental health, even if you just need a few sessions to “tune up” surrounding managing the stress of the world this year.