Bank holiday Monday (apparently...) & it seems like a lot of people are struggling today. When will this end? Will things ever be normal again? Fury at the government & their responding to this disaster.

Coping with a disaster (& let’s not kid ourselves, that’s what this) comes in stages. Disbelief, shock, bargaining, grief. All of these feature large. They come and go, not as a series of steps, but in waves.
Just when you think you’re over it and doing well, here we go again.

And if you are feeling helpless, if you want to DO something, help the people around you to cope with where they are now. Do not create even more fear than they already feel. Do not strive to incite even MORE anger than they already feel.

We all need to protect our mental health now, more than ever. And helping others with that is one thing we can still do, even now.

If you’re frightened (& who isn’t?!), try not to allow yourself to do the ‘what comes next?’ Try to remember where you are now, to be in each moment, rather than focusing on an uncertain future.

Anger is another big one. In every disaster, there is a need to find someone to blame. The government who didn’t prepare well enough. The ignorant masses. Sometimes it’s even the helpers. When we’re struggling, it’s natural to feel anger & to search for somewhere to place it.

We’ve been doing this for a while now. We’ve reached the stage where it’s natural to want to know how this will all end. The trouble is, there are no easy answers. And that brings about the anger again.

At the start of the year, I made the decision to be more mindful to help me with my anxiety. To focus, not on where I’m going, but on where I am. Countless psychological studies have shown how effective mindfulness is in helping us to cope, to be mentally healthy.

Never has a decision been more well timed! In a year when it is impossible to strive, all that is left to us is to be.

I know anger is easier. That having someone to blame helps. And the moment will ABSOLUTELY come when that anger can be channelled into productive action & change. But today, when you’re afraid, perhaps try to focus on being.

And once you are stronger & once life has gained some semblance of normalcy, THEN we can storm the barricades and enact REAL change.