How are you Coping?
How are you coping in these difficult times? We all deal with troubles in different ways and there will be days through this COVID-19 crisis where we can only see the bad and the ugly. But other days we will see the good!!
We have moved through a number of different phases in our household:
1.Denial that the pandemic would impact us.
2. Slow realisation that our lives were changing.
3. A time to quickly adapt to the new world of social distancing!
4. Overload of bad news and the desire to separate ourselves from the ‘world’ (so we turned the TV off completely).
And finally,
5.Acceptance of our situation
So, what is our Good, Bad and Ugly? Let’s talk about the bad and the ugly first and end on a positive note with the good!
The Bad
We, like most other people have lost out from the situation. We were supposed to be going to the UK for a 6 week holiday and have had to cancel everything. In doing this we lost money. We also find ourselves at home with not a lot to do. This is the bad for us but we know that we are not alone and some have lost much more than the cost of a holiday!
The Ugly
Of course as we reflect on the situation we cannot help but be affected by the images we see on the TV. The anguish of the families losing loved ones and the fear of health workers on the front line is so hard to watch. The real danger that some will starve and have no place to live as a result of this crisis is also shocking to watch. This is the ugly. But there are things we can do to help. We all have talents and gifts that can be put to good use. Just think about your gifts and how you could help relieve the pain and ugliness in some way.
The Good
I am a firm believer in trying to find the positives out of a bad/ugly situation. If we don’t try to do this we drown in fear and anxiety. There are many stories of people helping out by providing food to the newly unemployed and gifts for the health workers. This is the good – the heartening message across our community i.e. that people care and are willing to pull together!
So what are we doing to find some good about the COVID-19 situation? Like many others we found some jobs to keep us busy and focussing on the good!
I volunteered to help out with an organisation ( Masks for Mates) that is making cloth masks. The organisation consists of a team of volunteers that just want to help others. And so our days are filled with sewing, coordinating volunteers, posting out masks etc. We love to be helpful!
So what are you doing to focus on the good? Have you found a way to help others? We would love to hear from you about what you are doing to overcome the bad and the ugly!
What Next?
We hope you will join us at Helpful by Nature by subscribing to our email list. We would love to hear from you, take your questions and provide answers if we are able.
Until next time,
Gillian (and Andrew)
