Lockdown Cabin Fever: Life in a Pandemic
At the time of writing, much of the planet is facing a ‘second-wave’ of COVID-19. The global economy is being challenged, the poor are getting poorer, the sick, sicker, and all our perceptions of thinking we have any level of ‘control’ are being fractured. But, is the outlook really all doom and gloom?
It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’m sorry about that! However, now, seems like an important time to return to authoring my personal and professional experiences as a human, a father, husband, and counsellor/life coach, here in the United Kingdom.
So, what areas are being affected most for society at large?
As a counsellor – and someone who studies psychology, I appreciate exploring the human mind, our emotions, and our behaviours. I take great joy in learning off the back of any who wish to teach; the greatest teacher being that of suffering, in whatever form that takes!
Have you noticed any positives from this pandemic? Some will have, and most will not!
Community spirit can be observed at times to return to a positive historical position with individuals and organisations working together offering help to those disadvantaged by loss in income, redundancy of work, and numerous other hardships.
And of course, there are those who see opportunity in crises. Those who would seek to gain advantage from the vulnerable. But even these teach us something, even though the lessons are painful.
From a mental health perspective demand for counsel and care has, as expected, increased. Our individual rat-race has been disturbed, the autopilot disengaged, and whatever has been repressed and avoided has come to the forefront of our attention.
Relationships have been placed under perceptual microscopes and as partners begin to polarise their grievances.
As emotions become ever more powerful, many will take evasive or avoiding behaviours, such as increased alcohol consumption, recreational and illicit drugs, gambling, emotional eating and porn addiction. Others will manifest behaviours or be in receipt of depression and anxiety or anger, and sadly, domestic violence.
The children will naturally be affected by the caregivers’ moods and behaviours, and what they are witnessing. Alongside that, they will have their own world feeling shattered as normalcy and routine are crushed.
We can choose to recognise that we’ve been woken from a sleepwalking slumber.
Mindfulness is in currently in vogue – and that is a double-edged sword!
It’s so helpful that more people are becoming aware of the possibilities associated with becoming more mindful. That they can learn to access and then process difficult emotions, and thus, can create healthier and less regretful behaviours to heal and grow from wounds of the past, and as with this current time, to live our lives more in the moment, where there is much less suffering. What do I mean about that?
The suffering and challenges we actually have in each moment are often a fraction of that which we ourselves create through our imaginings. But, people who hear the term ‘mindfulness’, also seem to become less interested as the frequency of hearing this term increases.
If you’d like to explore the foundations for practising mindfulness and how it can help you, I have provided free access here to my online, self-paced program.
Bob Brotchie is a counsellor, mindset consultant and creator of "Conscious Living by Design"™. He writes for Anglia Counselling, is featured on various other websites and introduces us to many guest writers all covering topics related to mental health and wellbeing.
Bob provides bespoke counselling services to individuals and couples in the privacy and comfort of a truly welcoming environment at his Anglia Counselling company office, located near Newmarket in Suffolk, England. Bob also provides professional online counselling, for local, national, and international clients. The therapeutic models offered are bespoke to the client’s needs, especially those in receipt of 'childhood emotional neglect' (CEN), whilst integrating a mindful approach to psychotherapy and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) principles. For clients experiencing trauma and/or phobia, Bob offers EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing).