This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
We have all been through the most bewildering, frightening, upsetting and unpredictable time over the last two years. The Covid pandemic is an event that has literally tipped our lives upside down. So I thought that some ideas on how to get your life back now that restrictions are lifting might make for useful reading.
What we knew as normal vanished and, sadly, probably won’t be returning in quite the same guise. The world’s a different place now. We’ve suffered, been scared, been lonely and been astonished at the events of the past few years.
We have witnessed unbelievable acts of kindness and achievements in helping others. We were in awe of acts of selflessness from NHS staff and others on the front line and saw Captain Tom raise millions. We experienced that those in charge are also humans with faults and weaknesses but, most of all, we experienced change – change on an unprecedented scale and change can be so frightening .
Change is something humans find difficult to adapt to at times. We have set patterns of behaviour, complex systems in our brains developed over many years. When these are disrupted by events we cannot control we feel threatened and don’t really know how to react. Our cortisol levels rise and we can go into high alert mode.
This is normal. It’s part of the “fight or flight” reaction – an innate biological system built into humans to help them survive in times of danger.
So we have felt threatened but slowly we are getting our freedom back and coming out the other side of the pandemic, and now we aren’t quite sure how to handle that! Changes are happening again.
So what can we do? Well we must be kind to ourselves. Give ourselves time to adjust and to adapt to the world as it is now.
Keep connected -that may be slightly different to pre pandemic ways of staying in touch, however we’ve all learnt a lot about the virtual world and Zoom and the like. That is the future, and we need to keep using it along with face to face connection.
We also need to be kind to others Some people have really suffered badly through this pandemic and need to be handled very carefully. It may take years for them to recover.
Reaching out to others you may not know that well is a thoughtful and kind thing to do. Some people are shy or just not confident enough to connect. Smile at them or give them a wave and make their day.
Think about what’s important going forward and how you really want to spend your valuable time. Perhaps a new hobby or interest whereby you can connect with like-minded people.
There’s so many different ways to keep your self busy and interested in life and interesting!
Maybe volunteer – that’s a fantastic way of meeting others and feeling fulfilled. Research suggests that those who give are some of the happiest people around.
So it’s time to get back out there, albeit slowly. Take your time. It’ll be Spring soon. The snowdrops are out and life is emerging from its hibernated state – so must you. Get out there, be spontaneous and have some FUN!
Have a fabulous week everyone… best wishes, Lesley x