The Pandemic and These Three Positive Things
Written by Amy Rollo, M.A., LSSP, LPA, LPC-S
Owner, Heights Family Counseling
I’m not here to shout toxic positivity your way. My entire body recognizes the magnitude of the pandemic- from grief of losing loved ones, to loss of life’s milestones, to job insecurity of loss, we are hurting. However, I do want to discuss the importance a few of my favorite things resiliency, gratitude and radical acceptance. During our forced pause, let’s take some time to really see how amazing we are as humans. There are some positives to make note of.
Resiliency, humans I see you and your amazing resiliency. I recently watched a local news program talk about how a Houston hospital turned an entire unit into Covid_19 infectious disease unit; my guess is there are many hospitals doing this. Immediately, professionals changed their entire jobs and area of focus to meet the medical needs of the community. I reflected further and realized that all of us adapted so fast to what life was bringing. The week that the rodeo closed, sports were canceled, school canceled, etc., was the week our practice decided to switch to telehealth. We looked around, and all the practices in the area literally did this overnight. Amazing. Schools developed online curriculums to continue education. Dance, music, and martial arts studios continued extracurricular activities virtually. Restaurants became upscale drive-thru services. Churches offered community and faith through the internet. Friendship became stronger and more innovative, as people learned how to connect while being socially distant. This is resiliency. Resilient people experience failure, losses, and hard times, but they learn to keep going and keep moving despite the set-backs. Humans, we are incredibly resilient. When this becomes a distant memory one day, I hope the resiliency is still maintained.
Gratitude, humans we can get through hard times with gratitude. We were living in a society of abundance. We had too many activities, too many things, too many everything. While having some of that back would be really nice, having less can really help people be grateful for what they do have. Ordering take-out food is now the best treat I can have, while before we would absentmindedly eat out all weekend. Finding toilet paper on Amazon gives me excitement that compares to previously finding my favorite designer purchase on sale. In reality, I see this practice of gratitude the most with my own children. We haven’t left the house in a month, and the children are loving their toys. I thought they would be grieving their old life, but they seem to be thriving in their gratitude of what we do have in our home… things we always had, but we had taken for granted. Instead of trips to bounce houses, they enjoy sidewalk chalk hopscotch, or time in their backyard. Scrolling through social media posts, I notice that other families are experiencing the same things. My wish is that when life feels more normal, our gratitude will continue; we will no longer take things for granted.
Radical acceptance, this is such a hard one, but so necessary. Radical acceptance means you accept the reality, even if you do not like it. I remember having thoughts of “this can’t be happening,” or even trying to figure out a way not to see the full impact of the pandemic. I slowly felt my anxiety decrease and my joy for life come back when I accepted this is indeed happening. I miss seeing my loved ones, I miss being in the office seeing my clients face to face, I miss a lot of things. However, I now accept that my day consists of being home. It has led to feeling really content, and I have realized that somedays, I actually love the feeling of having no place to go. As a business owner, counselor, mother, supervisor, and full-time student, the last decade has felt like a non-stop sprint. I still have the responsibility, but it feels slower in some way. Radical acceptance is healing. As a counselor, I know this isn’t the only time life will bring a reality we do not enjoy; my hope is that everyone has learned how healing radical acceptance can be.
Take a moment to focus on these three things. Fill your mind, heart, and thoughts on these positive experiences. There will be days, you just need to feel the loss and experience the sadness, that is okay, too. But on the days that you can feel yourself with these 3 things, do it. I’m here rooting for you.
If you are struggling to process your loss and sadness, counseling for life transitions can help. Contact us today to learn more.