It seems that we are moving ahead with COVID19, through the trials and implementations of vaccines, and various countries struggling through more ‘waves’ of the virus taking hold of their inhabitants, and countries assisting other countries in their times of need. The global community is attempting to work together to tackle this monstrous virus.
But, as a result of various lockdowns and peoples lives changing significantly since COVID19 has became known to us all, there was already a pandemic that was gripping many a nations population. It is not viral and can not necessarily be seen and it is difficult to test for….. What is this pandemic? Many a health professional can answer the questions, others may be taking a guess.
Mental Health, and more specifically depression and anxiety.
What is this wave of mental health issues that consistently affect many of us in so many ways, and will it become worse as a result of the changes imposed on many due to COVID19? I am not sure that we have the specific answers or enough qualified health professionals on the ground to manage the numbers of those in need that are continuously rising.
It appears that we have hit the COVID pandemic unprepared in someways with many people thinking they need to chase and achieve happiness, joy, passions, positivity, gratitude but in a way this approach has segmented us from acknowledging and dealing with other emotions, more specifically the ones that are considered negative; anger, jealously, hurt, sadness, fear, disgust, stressed, helpless, hopeless, disconnected, annoyed, disturbed, anxious, embraced, bitter. There are more and I suggest you review lists of emotions and feelings positive and negative to re-aquaint yourself with the many that there are.
In effect, we need to be able to recognise these emotions and feelings and acknowledge that they are there and use them as signposts as to what they are bringing up for us to be able to deal with deeper issues that are being triggered by situations or people presenting before us. One emotion is not more important or achievable than the other, emotions are constantly swirling in us and around us and should not necessarily be considered a symptom but as stated above as a sign post to further direct our attention to what needs to be reviewed, acknowledged, discussed, faced.
Many individuals will have different emotions for different reasons and this is where dealing with each individual who requires professional assistance is important in so many ways. However, something to remember is that our emotions are our responsibility not necessarily to control but to view and acknowledge and if we think we require assistance to deal with them to gain it. We must consider that we can not expect someone else or something else to change, we can only control and change ourselves, this is not to say that we need to change to suit someone else or a situation, however, diving deeper into the signs of what the emotions bring up may show us what we can control and what we can’t and to take action where we can.
If you are having difficulties recognising and accepting emotions and they are having a significant effect on your ability to deal with your everyday life and relationships, I strongly urge you to reach out for help. Depending on where you live will depend on what services are available, whether it is a psychologist, a counsellor, support group, friends and families, employers, mental health teams. I also strongly urge those interested in working with others with difficulties dealing with their mental health, managing emotions and feelings to consider training in these areas as I don’t think this quietly simmering pandemic will get better once COVID19 has less of a grip on the world, I think in fact it will escalate.
