Rebounding from the pandemic; how to build mental toughness with mindfulness

“Winter is coming”. Did the Game of Thrones writers know just how long and cold said winter would be? I, along with many other GOT fans, thought they were talking about the epic battles between families and nightwalkers, but perhaps they were warning of the pandemic – which took hold of the globe less than a year after the series wrapped.

I remember the beginning of the pandemic, or at least the beginning in the US, and more specifically how it started in Massachusetts. I was even an early victim of the virus – having spent Valentines Day in 3 nursing homes delivering roses to the elderly clients. Two weeks later I had a cough, low fever and could no longer taste or smell. I had mild symptoms, but it took almost six months for my smell and taste to return. I had to use scent training to regain my full sense of smell and taste.

Two weeks. Flatten the curve. But as well all now know, two weeks turned into two years. Suddenly the lines between work and home were blurred. People were divided into “essential” and “non-essential” high-risk & low-risk, sick or healthy, fit or overweight. Then later, mask or no mask, vaccinated or unvaccinated. See your family or hunker down at home.

The pandemic then became political with mask mandates and eventual vaccine requirements. This, on top of small, local businesses being forced to close or limit occupancy, while the big box stores and Amazon seemed not to be impacted, and in many ways, even benefited.

2020 and 2021 were very tough years. Objectively, I do see a bright spot from the pandemic. A spotlight was put on health, both mental & physical. There is also a conversation now about work-life balance, as many corporate workers remain remote, or in a hybrid work environment.

Some of the trends I saw at the beginning of COVID-19 are what compelled me to find a health and nutrition certification program. I know firsthand the benefits of weight loss and mental wellbeing; I spent the previous 10 years on my own health transformation. But watching people suffer from illness and from fear, made me want to help other people change their lives for the better.

But what about mental health? Many clients and friends have expressed to me that adjusting to life without the pandemic restrictions has been more challenging than expected. It’s too soon to fully understand what impact COVID-19 in general and the shutdowns and isolation requirements specifically have and will continue to have on people.

The expectation that society could shut down, even just for two weeks without impacting mental health was naïve. Fear, anxiety, and sadness were three emotions commonly reported as being experienced.  Stress about balancing work and childcare, getting enough food, water, and toilet paper, while at the same time avoiding close contact with friends and family so as not to get sick added emotional pressure to everyone. Worse still, people already suffering from a mental health diagnosis were suddenly cut off from their support systems. People who live in unsafe or abusive homes suddenly had nowhere to escape to. According to the CDC alcohol and drug use increased. Research from Boston University shows the rate of depression climbed in 2021 to 32.8%, or 1 in 3 American adults. As early as June 2020, 13% of Americans reported increased substance use to cope with the added stress and emotions from COVID. It has further increased since then.

I was watching all of this unfold day by day; reading the number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths, trying to make sense of the charts and data being shared and trying to make informed decisions for both myself and my family.  

The truth is my lifestyle didn’t change dramatically during the pandemic. I had the tools available to me to support a healthy adjustment, and for that I am grateful. Over the years, as I had made changes to my physical health, my mental health had also improved. I truly felt better knowing I have a strong immune system and mental resilience.

The need for that resilience actually increased for me as society began to reopen and operate in a more “normal” way. I put normal in quotations because I don’t believe anyone really understood that fear and trauma from the past two years were now deeply routed in people’s conscious and unconscious minds. If Americans lived in a persistent state of fight or flight before COVID, we have roots in it now. Our nervous systems are stuck in survival mode. This can look like: anxiety and hypervigilance, depression and shutdown, addiction, numbing or disassociating, emotional repression and avoidance. It’s not the same for everyone. But if we let these feelings take over, eventually we have challenges recovering, or soothing ourselves in moments of true stress, making it harder and harder on our nervous system.

While there is no single, one sized-fits-all cure for the stress and anxiety so many people are dealing with right now, there are many tools that can be used to support us. I recommend practicing mindfulness to almost all of my clients. Pandemic or not, everyone can benefit from a mindfulness practice.

Mindfulness was becoming a bit of a buzz-word before COVID, but defining it and practicing it can be challenging. A quick search online shows mindfulness defined as “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations…”

I know what you’re thinking; but what does that mean!?

To practice mindfulness, one must be able to exist entirely in the present moment. The mind should be focused only on what is right in front of you, or what you are feeling, seeing, smelling, touching. Not on the task you just completed, or the list of things you have to do next. It’s absolutely easier said than done. Our minds aren’t used to focusing on one thing for long, it takes practice.

Here are three simple ways to become more mindful.

1.      Give your brain moments of rest. Don’t reach for your phone or computer in between tasks. Simply look around you and notice your surroundings. Take a few deep breaths. Or close your eyes and do a simple body scan, starting with the feet and moving up, really noticing how the physical body is feeling. Giving yourself these breaks roots you in the present moment, but also gives your brain time to sort through all of the information it’s already been presented with that day. This could even result in more clarity for what comes next in your day.

2.      Create a gratitude practice. I love to ask my clients to share something good or new in their lives. They quickly come to realize, it doesn’t have to be something big or even something they will remember 2 years from now. It can be the simple things like enjoying some time with family, an unplanned day outside with nature, or simply a night out with friends. Each day, before you go to bed, write down three things from the day that you are grateful for. This simple task can create a large shift in the way you feel.

3.      Take action – but don’t do so out of habit or convenience. Take action based on what you feel in your heart. Letting your heart center be your guide can help you to become more thoughtful in the way you approach things: work, interactions with family, making a change you so badly want. Being mindful means listening to your inner voice, and then following through with a few small actions to better align yourself and your life. This is probably the hardest of the three, but the results can be tremendous.

Creating a practice of mindfulness can help bring us back to a state of calm, of healing within the body and mind. It also prepares us for future moments of stress or challenge, helping us to look at the situation using a different perspective. As our society continues to face challenges, having a mindfulness practice can pull you to the present moment and give you an opportunity to sort through the noise, and focus on what really, personally matters.

Be well my friends.

Meg

Want help cultivating a mindfulness practice? Reach out to learn about private coaching options that are available to you and a FREE 50 minute consultation. Meg@HeartCenteredWellness.com.