“Change is the only constant in life.” - Heraclitus
In life, you experience changes and transitions in your relationships, in work, in your physical and mental health, changes from new events, new rules in the world. Sometimes you know that the change will occur. Sometimes it comes suddenly and unexpectedly. Lately, there has been a lot of changes for you in your daily routine. You are staying home, you are cancelling events, postponing projects, you are looking for indoors activities, new ways of interacting with your family and friends who lives far away, you might be more isolated.
You cannot ignore what is happening around you, but you cannot stay fixated on these events, glued to the news.
For me, a 2-3 mins check of the news every 2-3 days is enough to keep me updated on what is happening, and it is way more often than I usually do in normal times. If I spend longer time looking at the news, it is just unnecessary and doesn’t help. You have no control over what is happening and others’ people behaviour, so you need to focus on what you can control.
There is time when you feel sad, angry at people, low. The best way to deal with it is to recognize your feelings. They are completely normal. If you wish, you can take a journal and write your feelings, words, drawings or sentences, it can be as long as you wish.
I feel___________. The reason I feel_______ is because_________________________.
You can also choose a colour per feeling, sad = blue, angry = red, yellow = happy, orange = excited, purple = impatient, etc. Then, colour the page of your agenda in the main feeling-colour of the day. At the end of the week, go back to your agenda, and look at the colours of the week, compare them to the previous week.
Another way to go through changes is to put things into perspective: for example, you might be annoyed while working from home for the past weeks, but you have work, so that’s a plus. You had to cancel your holidays, but you can save the money for that house you want to buy.
That brings perspective, but that also makes you think and realize what the most important things are for you, your priorities in life, and maybe see new possibilities, a new future. What doors have opened to you in this new world? Take a paper and write down one thing that you can do now, that you could not do before.
Mindfulness or deep breathing also helps to slow down your mind, to take control of your thoughts, to stay in tune with your body. If you have been following me for a while, you might know my favourite breathing exercise. The link is at the end of this post.
Dealing with the unexpected is a part of life. Stress and anxiety can weaken your immune system. In time of changes, the best is to focus on things you can control. Eat healthy, drink lots of water, exercise for 30 minutes at home and get some sleep! Even though routines changed for everyone around the world, it is still possible to adapt to the new normal.
Click on Breathe to go to my Breathing Exercise:
Disclaimer:
The contents of this post are for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your mental health professional or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your mental or physical health.
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