How do you cope after eleven months of this chaos? This week I was scheduled to receive my second COVID vaccination as a healthcare worker, and then being able to follow it with a night on the town with my best friend who I haven’t seen in person in seven months. Instead of enacting such a joyful and inspiring plan, I had to cancel all of that while my husband is quarantined down the hall from me with a case of COVID. So, here we are, locked down again, with the same people, and the same four walls.
Anxiety
I’m sharing this because I’ve been talking to so many people in similar situations. They have hope out on the horizon, they can see better things coming, but here in the present things are still very much the same. Still heavy, still challenging, still wrought with anxiety. This is not what I thought my reality was going to look like this week. So, how do you cope when it’s eleven months in and maybe some of your coping mechanisms are losing their magical power?
Here is the only thing that I have arrived at this week: It has worked for me to have a quiet level of acceptance. After my moment of radical acceptance, it has been helpful to then run through an inventory of gratitude. I’m grateful that my husband’s COVID symptoms are not life-threatening. I’m grateful that I have access to healthcare and a pantry full of food when so many families do not have those privileges right now. I’m grateful for all of the support that has been coming in to cheer us on. The amazing thing is that as we pause and spend more time in gratitude, it shifts our perspective. Gratitude may not be the most exciting of energies, it’s not super-charged like enthusiasm and joy. For me, gratitude is much quieter. However it does create an opening, a peacefulness.
John Milton is quoted as saying: “Gratitude bestows reverence. Allowing us to encounter every day epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”
Treatment for Depression in Denver
So if you could use a new coping mechanism this month, try pausing and listing everything that you can be grateful for. If you are continuing to feel pervasive feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or dread please consider seeing a therapist. Individual therapy can teach you additional coping mechanisms, as well as give you a place to process your feelings during stressful times.
We are here for you as individual, couple, and family therapists! We offer individual counseling, couples counseling, and family counseling. If you would like more information about Flourish’s counseling services, reach out to us at 303-455-3767 x. 5 or fill out our contact form today.