Today I would like to talk about the importance of mental wellbeing. In the current situation, I have noticed a spike in people reflecting on their lives. It has been suggested that things never will be the same after we go back to “normal” life. Interestingly some people are enjoying social distancing, as finally, they can do things that they did not have time before. For example, some of my clients are creative people and scientists, and right now, they are in their element. And the current situation is allowing them to design, research, read and write. But they worry about how life will be when they go back to their usual life before the lockdown. On the other side, I noticed extroverts or business people are struggling with boredom and the inability to socialise. In my posts, I talk a lot about the meaning of psychological impact on our body. These strange times and the frequency of the word “pandemic” can affect our mental health. Some people can experience the kind of shock that starts a chain reaction in their mind and body.
I want to give you practical tips that are essential in the current circumstances. They might sound cliche, but please bear with me.
Psychological conflict is a condition that arises when a notable event occurs and three criteria are met, which can have a significant impact on the body:
Isolation - a significant event happens, and the person is alone or unable to share the experience with others.
Shock - the event is shocking, dramatic, and the person experienced strong emotion.
Suddenness - the event is unexpected.
If a person can’t solve this conflict or accept the situation and stay at a high level of stress, physical symptoms can appear.
Here is how to remove the dramatism and deal with such unexpected situations.
The first step is to take isolation out of the equation. That means you have to tell someone about what happened, your emotions, and your interpretation of the event. It could be a simple phone call to your friend or someone close to you, or even a neighbour. Don’t stay stressed alone.
The second step is trying to look at the situation from a different angle. Then maybe it will sound less dramatic, and you will find some humour around it.
Many of our communities showed us how to deal with stress successfully when schools closed in the UK. Within a couple of days, the government announced the lockdown. There were so many conversations going on in group chats, phones calls, social media. So many funny memes were created. Do you remember laughing about home-schooling, home exercising, and doing silly things? That is a great attitude to escape a traumatic experience. It doesn’t mean you will underplay the situation or feel great about it. You probably still go through different stages of dealing with stress, but at least the trauma is prevented.
I often work on peoples’ past experiences. We can’t change our past, but we can lower the intensity of the feelings associated with it by removing at least of the components (isolation, shock or suddenness). There are special techniques that can help with accepting life events and change how we feel about them.
But remember, one thing you can do to help yourself is to talk to someone, no matter how big or small the event or feeling.
Take care and enjoy the sunshine!
