Loss can mean so much to so many, perhaps it’s the loss of a job, a relationship ending, a friendship changing, saying good bye to old chapters in our lives, or the worse of all, loosing someone close to us. Do you stop to consider how we all cope with these stressful times in our lives?
For many people during this world wide pandemic it’s been a time that’s made us stop and consider how we want our lives to look. Perhaps we’ve begun to look more inwardly on ourselves than we ever have done, or even on what has passed.
At the beginning of lock-down I wrote about change and how resilience has a huge factor in how we all cope with periods of change. The last 6 months has impacted the world like most have never seen, certainly in my life time, but arguably for generations before us. As many of you that read my blog will know, I tend to gather ideas over a period of time and post at a time when I think it may resonate with others. My coaching course has certainly got me thinking about many new subjects, and revisiting areas which are more relevant during this time. The subject of my latest module is Mindfulness and Meaning, which may not mean a great deal to many readers, but in summary mindfulness helps to focus your mind, which I’m sure we could all do some help with recently!
Many of us may spend too much energy thinking about the past or the future, without fully connecting to the present. Through improving my own awareness of mental health issues, it’s not surprising that many articles cite; thinking about the past can lead to depressive thinking, whereas too much focus on the future can sometime lead to anxiety, so it’s no wonder that there’s been so much focus on mindfulness over recent years. Throughout lock-down there’s been so much loss, which has an almost inevitable impact on our mental health, which isn’t so obvious to see at first glance in some, there’s so often a completely different picture on the inside. Mental health awareness has come along way in the last 10 years, but it makes me sad to say that in my experience it’s got so much further to go until judgement and misconceptions are a thing of the past.
Any type of change in our life affects us in many different ways, some of us cope with this better than others, but fundamentally it’s seen as a loss. That’s obviously not to say for some losses there are also many gains, and it’s this process that I’m learning more about in my latest coaching module.
For instance ‘The Wheel of Life’, which is the medieval model of change. Describes the emotions of change. In the Middle Ages when many people were illiterate, teaching took place through images or pictures. ‘The Wheel of Life teaches that we cannot get happy and stay happy. Change always comes. Change brings growth. The emotions of change are expected and normal. They cannot be avoided. Looking for and accepting them in yourself and others helps work through the process of change and contributes to a sense of wellness.’
Whatever change you’re going through right now, I hope you have someone close to support you. If you don’t feel you want to confide in a friend or family member there are so many resources that may be just the help you need.
