What is so great about 2020?
It’s been stressful, isolating, financially destructive, and miserable?
This year and especially since March, with the Covid global pandemic all our lives have severely been changed. The many challenges faced for healthcare workers, frontline workers, adjusting to the new reality of working from home, learning from home, the vast number of people caught in the poverty cycle, and now many more added to that financial crisis. The fear of getting sick from Covid and dying alone with no one there to say goodbye. Experiencing one of these can have a tremendous impact on our mental health.
It’s really important for you to recognize your own mental health, your stress/anxiety level, and your tools for dealing with this added stress, asking questions of your children on how are they feeling, their emotional experiences during Covid. Just because they may not identify or use the words ‘stress or depression’ does not mean it is not their experience.
Reassuring our children is part of the discussion and conversation on mental health. Do we know when this Covid pandemic will end? No. Do we know the long-term mental health ramifications? No, we do not and that is why it is important to be mindful of your mental health, to seek out professional help if needed, to create your own self-care tools and strategies, and then share with your children how they too can learn to cope under the Covid cloud.
Reflecting on 2020. What’s to be thankful for in 2020? I have heard this comment many times during the last several months since the Covid crisis hit Canada and the rest of the world.
I have to admit being unable to travel is frustrating. Like many folks, we had all sorts of spring and summer travel plans, both in Canada visiting family and internationally. Everything was canceled due to Covid. This is not an isolated event. Birthdays, weddings, parties, reunions, funerals all have been canceled or postponed to who knows when. Private remembrance ceremonies are not the same as the collective grief and sharing the loss of a loved one. No hugging! That is like asking me not to breathe! Again adjusting to the new world order.
For someone like me, a hugger, that has been tough. Not being able to hug my family or friends. Wearing the mask to keep others safe is a new reality. At first, I really struggled because the covering was triggering fear. Learning to deal with that added anxiety was another burden for many others.
The constant news cycle of gloom and doom weighs on our mental health. The absence of family and friends in our regular lives, added burdens of homeschooling, increase domestic violence, limited or no social gatherings, financial stress and strain for everyone, business going bankrupt, and the anxiety and strain on our mental health everyone is experiencing in some form.
Let’s face it, we cannot deny what’s happening around us. And we also cannot deny the impact in various forms, the Covid crisis is having on each of our lives. Everyone copes with stress in their own way.
What could be stressful for one person may not have the same impact on someone else. If you think about it we’re just trying to do our best During these unprecedented times.
Was there something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving? What about Christmas? The New Year 2021? Lots of unknowns. It can drive us crazy!
“Even the darkest hour has only 60 minutes” by Maurice Mandel
For some folks, these last seven months have felt like the ‘darkest hours’. In fact, it has been a reality for many of those who have lost a loved one or who are watching someone ill from Covid.
None of us is immune and although children may not seem to suffer from serious side effects, we don’t know the long-term effect on their bodies.
Let’s face it that’s a lot of stuff NOT to be thankful 2020! 
We do however have a choice. We do have a choice in how we react, how we respond, and what we retain during these stressful times. No matter what is happening in our lives we are responsible for our actions, non-actions, and what we say.
I look around and I see my neighbors, friends, family, community, my country rallying around each other, helping each other, giving to each other during the last several months. Everyone has their own financial difficulties, some more so than others.
It’s the ripple effect of kindness and caring for someone we love, sometimes a stranger, to make their world or day a better place during the Covid crisis. Those precious moments give us an opportunity to be thankful.
Reassuring, sharing, and demonstrating for our children how to be safe, handle stress with their own self-care tools/strategies as lifelong skills teach them empowerment not just for dealing with the anxieties of today but for their entire lives. Children need to know where to go for mental health help, who to call if they are feeling suicidal. The idea is to spark some creative thought in what works for you to help you feel less stressed in life.
Life is going to look different, this is something we cannot change. Create positive opportunities that are unique for 2020. Use your imagination to ask your children to use her imagination on how to make life enjoyable.
I can’t have my family over for dinner but what I can do is make a nice dinner with the special items that remind me of the people who are not present this year.
We can spend our mental energy being angry, frustrated, and resentful or we can pivot and focus on the little things in life that give us joy. Sadly this may not be possible for those in violent homes, please try to seek out help.
I’m thankful every day to be alive, for the people I love in my life, good health, tools and strategies for good mental health, being mindful of keeping a positive attitude which gives us the resilience of life and living in a community where we feel safe.
There are lots of unknowns and we have to take care of our mental health and be kind to those who may be struggling. Together, we can get through this Covid pandemic together. Stay safe, stay positive, and never give up.