Coronavirus & Mental Health: Uncertainty, Strength & Holding Our Own
[This is the FINAL PART of a 5-part series exploring mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown period. You can find the other pieces at the end of the article.]
We have to live with huge uncertainty at the minute. We have stepped out into an unseen bog; and the only way is forward.
We do not know when quarantines will be lifted; nor how the global economy will hold up; nor when we will be able to see friends and family again. We wake up and look outside each morning to a strange, locked up world.
Our normally reliable sources of knowledge are clueless. We cannot look to the news, politicians, managers at work, mums or siblings for advice and reassurance. There is none. There is no certainty how life will be next week let alone next year.
The only thing that will remain constant in all this: yourself.
We will remain through this. We will be able to endure whatever is put in front of us. We have more persistence than we think.
There has been no greater time to believe in our own capabilities and powers. We can self-isolate. We can keep social distance. We can survive without seeing our loved ones. We can come together as communities to support humanity at its lowest point.
Growing ourselves through suffering
When we survive pain, we cannot help but learn from it.
At these moment, millions of people around the world who suffer with anxiety or depression are going through difficult moments. We are not alone in our suffering. We will get through this period together.
I believe the world will come out of the quarantine a more resilient place. But only if we really see this time as an opportunity to learn ourselves: who we are and what we want. As individuals. As humanity.
Learning ourselves is difficult at the best of times.
Yet, now is a time to stop and listen to our heartbeat; to observe our thoughts and emotions; to become our own best friends and love ourselves; to live with curiosity and appreciation; and to be open with the world around us.
We can finally realise that we area constant work in progress; not aiming for perfection but always learning.
We do not need to do anything, be anyone or stay constantly in touch with the external world. We can put down our phones and just sit calmly on a terrace or by the window. We can put away Netflix and pick up a book that we like. We can have a bath for an hour and take care of our bodies.
We can think for ourselves, be with ourselves. We can grow strong amidst the chaos. Because at the moment, just getting through each day is an achievement.
I will leave you with a poem by Kate Tempest. It reminded me to ground myself at my darkest moments. I hope it can help you at these difficult times:
When time pulls lives apart
Hold your ownWhen everything is fluid, and when nothing can be known with any certainty
Hold your ownHold it ’til you feel it there
As dark, and dense, and wet as earth
As vast, and bright, and sweet as air
When all there is Is knowing that you feel what you are feeling
Hold your ownAsk your hands to know the things they hold
I know the days are reeling past in such squealing blasts
But stop for breath and you will know it’s yours
Swaying like an open door when storms are coming
Hold
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To review the story, find the other parts below:
👉 Part 1: Fear, Loneliness & The Silver Linings of Quarantine
👉 Part 2: Free Time, Love & Becoming Our Own Best Friend
👉 Part 3: Gratitude, Curiosity & Doing Less Better
👉 Part 4: Emotional Intelligence, Empathy & Practicing Openness
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