We all experience moments of vulnerability when our lives seem out of control, and we struggle to keep ourselves calm and positive. It seems like these moments of helplessness and despair are more prevalent and more pronounced during a pandemic.
Everyone’s emotional health has been impacted during the last couple of years. How could it not? With so many deaths, with social distancing, with masks covering our smiles, we are all suffering. We want to know how to find a way through this darkness.
All You Need Is Love
The Beatles got it right when they sang, “All you need is love.” But if you’re in lockdown, you may not have access to siblings, other family members, or friends. And sometimes, just the comfort from a friend who gives you an unrelenting hug is the tonic you need. It is physically and mentally satisfying in a way that nothing else is.
Second best, but helpful, is to remember when a loved one held you, or just touched you affectionately. Try to replicate the feeling, the warmth you felt, the joy such closeness gave you. And remember, too, that at some point, you will feel such comfort again.
Meditate and Breathe
Meditation is often prescribed as a way to cope during times of anxiousness. There’s a good reason. It works for many people, especially when you practice mindful breathing. Movement, even as minimal as breathing, can be calming. Running can be calming. Swimming, walking, any rhythmic exercise. It takes your mind off your anxieties and helps you focus on something else.
Music can be helpful, also, especially if it’s intrinsically calming., like Braham’s lullaby. Whether you’re listening to music or creating it by singing or playing an instrument, the movement and the sounds you concentrate on making can soothe.
Pray, Whether You Believe in God or Not
In times of trouble, people who don’t normally consider themselves religious often turn to God, or at least what they think of as a God who hears them. It is comforting to “talk” to a greater force than yourself.
If you are religious, familiar prayers and rituals can soothe your frayed nervous system. Incantations and repeated verses you recall from childhood may offer the most comfort of all.
Nancy Travers is an Orange County Counseling professional. If you need safe, effective counseling services, please get in touch. You can reach her here: https://www.nancyscounselingcorner.com/comtact
