Anxiety and loss of hope are common emotions that everyone around the world feels.
Although everyone has experienced both at some point, our varying cultures and upbringing make it hard for us to believe that these feelings are all equally valid. We are also in disbelief once someone also goes through the same thing as us but makes it seem like it is not a big deal. Those scenes are very familiar, but all are a reality of life.
With the pandemic wreaking havoc on our nation, emotions, and mental wellbeing, our anxiety and hopelessness are an all-time high.
Therefore, you must know that every challenge always has a silver lining. It is essential to find the comfort that you will emerge gloriously victorious after all of the hardships. These heavy-hitting emotions are what make you human, after all.
If the pep talk still makes you doubt the cards that your life has dealt you, here are a few things that you can do to tide you through every storm. These tips will keep you seeing the positive side of every anxious time and hopeless moment that you might have.
1. Keep your Emotions in Motion
Although you might be tempted to keep your messy feelings to yourself, you should note that the anguish you are feeling is an entirely natural response to what you are going through. If you believe that everyone in your family seems to be holding things together, the likelihood is that they each have a unique way of dealing with the loss, as no two experiences are identical.
Feeling bad for not getting a firm grip on your depression is normal, as it always begins best where it causes the most pain. Your distress will most likely start with intense emotions and possibly some physical reactions that you may not have considered previously. In time, this sorrow, pain, and setback will go away as it is a typical human experience—which is fine because it makes you more human.
2. Accepting Necessary Hardships
This is a challenging route to build, but it is critical. You will find yourself negotiating with any belief that you have to end this hopelessness and anxiety. That is entirely reasonable. However, you must bear in mind that no amount of prayers, hoping, or even spells can help you if you do not accept the hardships yourself.
If you refuse to accept defeat, how can you possibly see what the world still has to offer you? Keeping yourself stuck in the what-ifs and could be when you were still okay will only make it harder for you to advance to the next chapter of your life, especially now that the pandemic is almost over. Although it will seem easier to remain in the earlier days, you will eventually realize that you have missed many opportunities that could have pushed you to be a better version of yourself.
A dramatic collapse is brutal to comprehend right away, and no one wishes to go through it, but it is a normal part of life.
3. Reintroduce a more brilliant you
We understand that remaining inside your homes is the best option right now, but as the pandemic wanes, you will be facing a sense of normalcy that you have missed out on since 2020. To divert your attention away from the tragedy, consider picking up a new hobby that demands your complete focus. It would help if you tried doing brain teasers and worksheets to distract yourself and your brain from the emotional turmoil.
4. Wear The Challenge Like A Badge
Overcoming distress rapidly is not a race. Some people may wear their inability to shed a tear or two at hardships as a symbol of pride, but crying has more benefits, even if it makes you look like a mess.
Moreover, there are days when life feels more complicated than it did previously, although you believed you had advanced. That is entirely natural. If you disagree, imagine your anguish as a giant ball enclosed in a box with a button. The button represents your impulses, and since the pain is still raw, the big ball readily pounds on the switch because there is no room for it to transition. This causes you to weep uncontrollably at your disappointment. Even so, as the years pass, the ball continues to shrink in size, and the couple of times it can press the buttons significantly reduces. Yet, the possibility of remembering the pain remains, and it will always be a part of you.
You can acknowledge that your wish for happiness after the storm is finally heard by your lucky stars.
5. Self-Care to show that you care
Although leaving the house to attend to daily duties can be challenging, doing a daily dose of self-care will benefit your mental health more than stewing in it.
If you feel the urge to clean your hair and teeth simultaneously, attack while the hammer is hot.
Self-care could also be as simple as changing out of your wardrobe and drinking your favorite beverage to promote relaxation to your senses. Meanwhile, cleaning can be compared to you removing the impurities and sorrow you are currently feeling.
And if a bit of self-care fails to work, it may be time to face reality and reach out to a professional for help you have been actively avoiding.
The stigma around meeting a professional mental health worker has long been left in the past. Most people are practicing empathy now and coaching everyone to stand up for their right not to be discriminated against for something they cannot control. The shame of going to a psychologist should be replaced with the disgrace that would dawn upon you if it is too late even to seek out mental help.
Yes, it happens. There will come a time when you will realize that everything is too late, so it is better to stay in tune with your consciousness and admit that you need help more than ever. To help you even further, psychological consultations are always a private matter between you and the attending psychologist. They are required by their sworn oath never to disclose a client's disposition unless required to do so or given permission. So, go ahead and contact one. Who knows, it may be the final push that you need towards healing.
Having post-pandemic anxiety is hard, but it never is a permanent thing to stay once you sought out ways to alleviate the anguish you are feeling.
