And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently. And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal. And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed…
Human beings like certainty and super predictable things. We want to know what is happening when and to notice things that feel threatening to us. When things feel uncertain or when we don’t generally feel safe, it’s normal to feel stressed. This is very obvious reaction, appeared to protect us, but also can cause all sorts of mess with conflicting information around us. Right now, many of us may feel helpless about what will happen or what we can do to prevent further stress related to the spread of the corona. But we should remember that the uncertainty might also be connected to our uncertainty about other aspects of our lives. In times like these, our mental health can suffer. We might feel more on edge than usual, angry, helpless or sad. It’s important to note that we are not helpless with the current news. We can always choose our responses. Here are some things we can do to take care of our mental health in the face of uncertainty:
- First, we should separate what is in our control, what is not. Wash our hands. Remind others to wash theirs. Take our vitamins. Limit our consumption of news
- Do smth that helps us feel a sense of safety. This can surely be different for everyone, and it’s important not to compare yourself to others. But it’s also useful to share.
- Get outside in nature. I took a walk yesterday afternoon in my neighborhood. The sun was shining, I probably got my dose of vitamin D, and it felt good to get some fresh air.
- Challenge yourself to stay in the present. It’s important to not loose the connection with the real world around, even if we don’t see its existing from inside. It’d be nice to notice the sights, sounds, tastes and other sensory experiences in our immediate moment and name them.
- Stay connected with people. Talk to our friends about what we are feeling. We don’t have to be alone with our worries and it can be comforting to share what we are all experiencing now.
We are in this together, and help is always available.
The project “YOU are the EU” is funded by the Agency for Mobility and EU programmes withing the program European Solidarity Corps.