Hands up if like me you watched Boris Johnson’s national TV address at 8.30pm and then had a very bad night’s sleep?
Nothing Boris said came as a shock and many would welcome these more severe restrictions to help bring COVID-19 under control. But the fact remains; there are now strict limitations placed upon our everyday lives which will have far reaching consequences.
With just 3 weeks to go until I am due our second baby, I had imagined I would be spending this time ending with my counselling clients, batch cooking some meals to stick in the freezer to make life easier with a new-born, getting excited about meeting the baby and spending some quality time with Miss H before her little world is rocked by the arrival of her baby brother or sister.
Thanks to modern technology, I have been able to continue to see clients virtually and draw our work to a close. But due to panic buying in the supermarkets, we have struggled to get enough meat, vegetables and other goods to last for the week, let along buying anything extra to make additional meals. And as for quality time with Miss H, whilst she is too young to understand what is happening, she is missing the routine of toddler groups, play dates, and two days at nursery. As a result her behaviour has been somewhat challenging and at times my patience has not been the greatest.
And in addition to all of this, at a time when I could really do with having my husband by my side, he is now on standby as part of the Armed Force’s response to the Coronavirus crisis.
As human beings we are all amazingly adaptive but the process of adapting involves letting go of our expectations. This theme regularly comes up in therapy, where clients have to relinquish control and accept the reality of a situation.
Accepting we are living in uncertain times is so very important right now, as well as establishing the ways in which we do have control. The most obvious ones right now are:
- Staying at home and adhering to the guidelines set out by the government
- Washing your hands and practising good hygiene.
But there are other things which are very simple, yet are the very things we might forget when we are experiencing a heightened state of anxiety. Keep your eyes peeled on my website and social media for a tip I will be sharing every day for the next week. It will simply focus on how you can take control of your life during these unprecedented times.