This is an ‘unprecedented’ time, as the newspapers keep reminding us. They use that word because it’s true: nothing in anyone’s lifetime has prepared us for this. Comparisons are with the Spanish Flu after the Great War, or much further back, with the Great Plague or Black Death. Since this time is unprecedented, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. And that’s why taking care of your mental health is more important now than ever.
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Last weekend, a friend gave me a ‘prayer stick’ – though she preferred to call it a ‘hope stick’. It’s a piece of wood, found on a walk and decorated with coloured wool and beads. While she decorated the stick, my friend ‘infused’ it with dreams of happiness, wishes for success, and hopes for the community and the world. It reminded me how important hope is in counselling.
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Life is full of loss. From the overwhelming pain of bereavement, the death of a family member or friend, to the loss of a marriage that ends in divorce. There is loss inherent in the ageing process, loss of the physical identity we used to have and in all the changes which life brings. There is loss involved when we move house, in redundancy, when our children grow up and leave home. (more…)
‘My feelings are all mixed up.’
‘I don’t know what I feel.’
‘I feel nothing at all – but it isn’t good.’ (more…)
You’re stressed out and anxious. There’s far too much to do. You make lists and wake up at night to add new items to your lists. The lists grow longer and longer. The more items you tick off, the more there are, always impatient, prodding you. Get more done! Do it now! Drink coffee, get up at five, maximise your time. Burn yourself out. (more…)
