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Welcome to my Blog After Covid-19 – Re-addressing Life’s Balance.  I have always been curious as to what is meant by “life is a balancing act”, or “the balance of life”.  For if you “balance” one thing with another, or may be several things, then each of those things has the same strength or importance.  But what does that mean in relation to life because I am sure that “the balance of life” has a different meaning to many a person, and will vary according to their different stages of life on an emotional, mental, physical and spiritual level.

I was after creating a series of Blogs to reflect this, but right now and in light of Coronavirus, the balance of all of our lives has been temporarily tilted or “paused”.  It is here that seems the most appropriate place to start.

What Was Your Life Like Pre-Lockdown

Was it one of these scenarios ….. was your life spent in the fast lane 24/7 seldom getting the chance to stop and admire the scenery, or take a deep breath and connect to yourself, or your family for that matter, and further still to the possibilities of life and what it has to truly offer.  Were you part of a family, say of one or two parents working full-time with children, attempting to fit in everyone’s activities and constantly multi-tasking from the moment you were awake to the moment you got to bed.  Was desire driving you to spend most of your year yearning for the next break, the next day off, or holiday, only to find that when the opportunity to rest and relax arrived you found it hard to “unwind”.  Perhaps you were just starting out job hunting after having been to University, or maybe you were at the other end of life, retired or near retirement and looking forward to slowing down, or maybe you were somewhere in between.

How Did You React To The Lockdown?

The lockdown came and suddenly everyone’s life as they knew it changed overnight.  The freedom of movement to being confined in the home, only going out for essentials for yourself, family, neighbour or having a job as a key worker.   At the point of lockdown, the reality of the seriousness of Coronavirus, if it hadn’t already,  began to create feelings of stress and anxiety, partly due to the control we each had over our lives being taken out of our hands as we sailed into the unknown.  Have you managed to cope well with this change, or have you experienced feelings of vulnerability and a sense of helplessness because at that time, the future felt uncertain, or maybe you put your head down to bury yourself and went into a vacuum, in a time when your world became much smaller.  Have you felt angry, and hurt that you have been unable to hug those closest to you, parents, children, grandchildren or visit someone sick in a care/residential home or in hospital, or a similar setting.  In other words, have you found yourself in a bit of a hole by reacting as if you were experiencing a grieving process to the lockdown situation, and if you did, how aware were you?  Otherwise, have you had a surge of adrenalin as a way to cope in a crisis…..but then that surge has to come to an end because there is only so much energy, and actually whatever your coping mechanism is, you are not alone!

What Is Life Like Now 14 Weeks On

Just when you think or feel you have, or maybe have, come to a level of acceptance as a new norm is established, and life is beginning to open up again, are you beginning to wonder where you are at now having come through and faced the challenges over the last three months.  How are you feeling?  What are you thinking?  Are you beginning to feel weary to the bone, are you beginning to perhaps feel physically tired, particularly if you had experienced some stress, anxiety or uncertainty, because it can take it out of you on many levels.  Perhaps you have experienced additional fatigue whilst getting used to working via the on-line platforms or involved in home tutoring.

I wonder if you are feeling uncertain which leaves you open to feelings of vulnerability.  If you are, it is OK to feel this way.  Right now as shops and other things begin to open up again, it is difficult and feeling uncertain or vulnerable is not a weakness here.  It can be a stepping stone to a foundation of new ways, but sometimes we require the courage to act at this time, when we are still faced with the risk and uncertainty of what lies ahead. 

It is all still such a new situation that no-one in this life time has ever experienced before.

Can Life Be The Same

I am sure for some people after this experience they will just want to rush straight back to attempting to establish their norm as best they can.  I wonder though, if life can ever be the same again, having been forced to “take a pause” from the norm we all had in whatever way, shape or form that was for the individual.  I wonder how confident people will be as they step back into the world because I am sure for some people, they will feel they just can’t go back to where they were.  Is this why house sale enquiries are up? 

For me it raises other questions, such as do I want to travel to and from the office every day, would there be a preference to remain working at home, does it have its advantages and disadvantages.  I have enjoyed connecting to nature, or having taken to cycling or running and feel fitter and would I want to lose this, a new way forward.  In order to do that and at this present time, I can only appreciate how it must create a new set of anxieties as we face more uncertainty as to what that looks like.  What are the new tensions we are faced with, or if we gave it a different view of perhaps celebrating just how far we have all come, would that help weigh up the pros and cons of what a new “balanced” life may look like going forward.

What Is Important Now

The question I ask here is will the seriousness of the pandemic be enough to change one’s view of what is important in their life.  As an example, would the person striving for the next goal and the next goal continue to do so, or will they appreciate that the stress they placed themselves under undermines their health and immune system from functioning at its full potential, or if you have felt more connected to nature would you prefer to move to the countryside or coast for a slightly quieter life.

In a way, I feel I have come back to my opening lines here because as one’s confidence and self-esteem flourishes, or will hopefully flourish if it dwindled at all, -will those things you had pre-covid-19 hold the same strength or importance now as we find our way transitioning into a new norm.  What will your new balance of life mean now?

Perhaps it means work-life balance by good management, or is there new meaning in family harmony by sharing and supporting, or may be you will take to discovering a more peaceful and still mind through meditation and the practice of yoga, or something similar.

If part or all of this blog resonates with you and you seek help, please contact me by emailing belinda@breathofchange.org.uk, or calling 07973410375/02088732843.  I operate from clinics in Epsom, Surrey and Crawley, West Sussex.

 

 

 

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