Mental health; anxiety, depression. Topics that for so long have been treated as taboo. That was until the start of the Covid-19 pandemic where people were forced to stay at home more often, not see their friends and loved ones for months on end and not having to go into the office for the best part of a year, which has lead to over a 33% increase in people experiencing anxiety. Now that a lot of countries look to be on the road back to normality, we should really talk about how we can handle these feelings when getting back to our lives.
That first day the shops, salons and bars open again. The day we can go and see our friends and families. The day that life finally feels that little bit like before; the ‘new normal’ I should say. It’s going to be exciting, a happy time but quite overwhelming for a lot of us. How can I overcome this? You may ask. It’s going to take time for running errands, popping out for dinner and being in big groups to feel normal again but you can start by taking things at your own pace. If your favourite restaurant has opened its doors or your friends have planned a long overdue girls/ lads night, doesn’t mean you have to go; no matter how long you’ve been craving this type of normality. If you’re overwhelmed, not ready for being in busy situations, you need to go at your own pace and do things when you’re ready. Start small and work your way up. Go for a trip to the store. Grab a coffee; even if it is from the drive through. Life will be waiting to resume as and when you are ready; even if it isn’t at the pace everyone else seems to be going.
Be present in the moment. Anxiety is proven to stem from either living in the past, living in the future, living in your head or always thinking of the worst outcome. No matter how hard we try, the past cannot be changed, but if we live in the present, the future can become all we could’ve hoped the past would’ve been. The future is made up of present days. If you start to think of today, right here, right now as the future, you’ll be able to create the one you want otherwise, it may just pass you by.
Make a plan on how you want your life to look. Yes, even those little things that you didn’t think twice about doing before. We got caught up in life worrying about work, about bills, spending time worrying about those little things waiting for the day where we’ll live more intentionally. Because they’re ‘always going to be there to do’, when they were taken away from us in a time where we were forced to slow down, to be present and realise what’s important.
Find joy, meaning and love in everyday, in everything you do; even if some days you have to look that little bit harder.
Remember, it’s not going to feel this way forever; yes you may feel anxious in certain situations, but life can be lived our way again, only with the realisation that the most important things in life are our health and spending time with our loved ones.
I hope, after such a difficult year, we’ll all be able to live more intentionally, in a kinder, happier world. A world where mental health is talked about more openly, is less of a taboo topic and seeing a therapist isn’t just for the ‘crazy’.
Thank you so much, as always, for taking the time to read this post; I really hope you enjoyed the read. I thought it was about time I shared a little more personal post, especially as a lot of other people will be feeling the same way about the world returning to what we once knew as normal. I have lots more guest posts and more lifestyle posts coming for you and I will see you soon with a new one.
