3 minute read
The Return to Reality: Mixed Emotions
THE RETURN TO REALITY:
MIXED EMOTIONS
The past year has been difficult and different for every person in one way or another. With three national lockdowns and restrictions for us all, the news of the vaccine programme and lockdown easing has stirred up some mixed emotions.
BE POSITIVE BE POSITIVE BE POSITIVE BE POSITIVE We took to Instagram to find out how our followers really feel about the return to reality and in a poll asking if they're anxious or excited, 81% voted that they are excited. But we can’t forget about the 19% who said they were anxious. Even if you are mostly excited but a bit of anxiety is creeping up on you, here are some tips on how to feel ok with all this change.
01 > UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THAT FEELINGS OF ANXIETY IN THIS SITUATION ARE COMPLETELY NORMAL Even if you’ve worked throughout the pandemic, you still had to face significant changes in your lifestyle. For more than a year, one of the only reasons you could leave the house was to go to work. Not being able to take part in leisure activities and socialise with other people have become so engrained that we have accepted it as the ‘new normal’ so going back to the ‘old normal’ might be a big adjustment.
02 > START WITH SMALLER SOCIAL SITUATIONS The reason you are feeling anxiety could be that your mind is thinking of going from no social interaction to full on social interaction and skipping the part in the middle, in effect making you feel overwhelmed. If that’s the case, then stop and remember that you can start with smaller social situations and build up to larger ones.
03 > DON’T LET PEER PRESSURE OR OTHER PEOPLE'S EXCITEMENT MAKE YOU LEAP BACK INTO LIFE TOO QUICKLY Although it may seem like everyone around you is excited, no one is forcing you to go shopping in a packed shopping centre or sit in a stadium of thousands of people from June 21st. Take reintegrating back into normal life at your own pace and start with situations that make you feel comfortable. 04 > USE YOUR TRIED AND TESTED COPING STRATEGIES Before lockdown, if you were feeling down, you would do things that made you feel better. Lockdown took away the opportunity for us to do the things that we would usually do to protect our mental health. Going back to reality will mean that we will get back those coping strategies and for some people that will be enough to start healing from the mental health stresses of lockdown.
05 > WORK ON REPROGRAMMING YOUR MIND For some people, even all of these tips won’t help. That’s when you have to put in more effort to start feeling ok - reprogramming your mind is a key part of this. Practice mindfulness, reaffirm positive thoughts, keep a journal or diary, there are so many things you can do yourself to change the way you think. If you are struggling, there are lots of online resources that can help.
06 > BE PATIENT AND GIVE YOURSELF TIME Whatever you choose to do to ease your anxiety, remember that this is a process, and it will take some time before you start noticing changes in your mental health and feelings. Be patient and give yourself time to really start noticing changes and don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Talking and sharing your feelings really helps.
For more information visit:
www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters www.mind.org.uk stem4.org.uk
NEED
HELP?
We hope you have found these suggestions helpful. If you are still struggling with mental health issues then there is always someone to talk to, like the Samaritans (available 24 hours). Call 116 123 to speak to a trained counsellor, confidentially, for free.
