The COVID-19 pandemic has been a collective trauma. We are seeing record numbers of people suffering with their mental health, a projected increase in obesity, and finances have been thrown into crisis for many families, with job losses or even the premature loss of the family breadwinner. The effects will be far reaching and will last a lifetime.
Despite this, there are a few things we can do to help ourselves, and one of the things I encourage as a transformational life coach is Positive Reframing. A positive reframe is simply the act of changing how we look at a situation.
For example:
I’ve got a hole in my sock can become I’m going to make sock puppets with my kids!
I’m stuck at home
You’ve been granted the gift of time. You may be at home alone, or with family. If you have been alone, consider, when was the last time you got so much time in total solitude? If you have spent the time with your family, when was the last time you truly got to spend so much time just you and the family you have. Many people have lost loved ones, but we have been granted the privilege of spending time with the ones we have.
I lost my job – things are hard
My heart goes out to anyone who has lost a job – no matter when it happens, the loss is huge and I would never minimise that pain.
You have the unexpected opportunity to pursue your dreams. Have you heard that cliché ‘when one door closes, another opens’? Perhaps now is the time to try that thing you always wanted to do but couldn’t because you didn’t have time to do it around your day job. Be a little bit brave and take the leap!
I hate the restrictions – the masks, the sanitiser, the COVID testing
There’s no getting away from it – COVID testing is vile. Having a swab tickle your brain is nobody’s idea of fun. But…
We have amazing healthcare and public health awareness in the UK. We are fortunate enough to live in a country where public health is not just well informed, it’s also well-funded. There are countries around the world who don’t have this. There is no getting away from the fact the US and the UK remain among the top ten worst affected – but up there are also countries like Brazil and India, where the statistics are eye-watering to look at, and the standard of healthcare is not comparable to the UK. The restrictions help to keep us safe.
I just want everything to go back to normal!
Things will return to normality – but there have also been so many positive changes that will last for years to come. We are moving back towards normality slowly. Shops are open, people are commuting, and all the kids are back to school. We will be able to hug our families soon. However, the measures that came into force when the first lockdown happened last year has made profound and lasting changes for the disabled workforce. Disability can affect any one of us in our lives, either through illness or accident, and although it is a horrible thought, disabled people have been campaigning for years for reasonable adjustments. When the able-bodied workforce needed to be able to work from home, it happened overnight, exposing that it was in fact prejudice that was preventing the disabled from home-working. Paradigms are shifting, and it can only be a good thing.
What have you managed to reframe during the pandemic?