Returning to Post-COVID19 Normalcy - COVID-19 Edition

COVID19 became a term we are all too familiar with since the beginning of 2020, to the point it is almost intrusive in our everyday lives. Associated with this term for many of us are anything but positives.

Let’s explore what some of the implications this word might have created from a psychological perspective and if we are able to identify with any of these questions:

Anxiety and the unknown:

·      What will life be like after restrictions are being lifted?

·      When will I be returning to school or work? How will returning to school or work even be like after COVID19?

·      When this is over and done with, will I still have a job?  

·      Will I be able to graduate this year at all?

·      How will this change the protocols for when I visit my doctor, specialists or other health care professionals?

·      How will I be able to financially support my family?

·      I’m not really sure how I feel about enrolling my children in daycare or my elderly parents into nursing homes in the near
future

·      When will we receive an effective vaccine for this? Or will we at all?

Grief and Resentment

·      COVID19 took away the things I cared the most, and I don’t know how to deal with it moving forward

·      I never imagined COVID19 will take away my family member, it felt as if I just saw them yesterday and the next thing I
know, they were gone

·      I lost the business I built from ground up and COVID19 took it all away from me. I don’t know how I’m going to survive after
this

·      Because of COVID19, I have to sell my properties to help financially support my family

Returning to “Normalcy” Post-COVID

As many countries are slowly beginning to ease restrictions, one of the questions we have is: When will we go back to normal?

This question has sparked my interest over the past several months and is one I really did spend time reflecting upon. Although many of us will require time to process the changes COVID19 had on our lives, I hope the recommendations below will help alleviate some of the emotional challenges perhaps yourself or your loved ones are going through:

1.    Let’s define what “Normalcy” really means

According to the textbook, dictionary definition, normal means conforming to societal standards and not deviating from norm. While a lot of us developed a routine or a structured way of carrying out our day-to-day lives prior to COVID19, it could be useful to ask ourselves and take time to reflect if our routines prior to COVID19 were in fact healthy or normal

2.    Assess what was learned during the COVID19 pandemic

The saying every cloud has a silver lining could be exemplified in this situation. Although a number of us have struggled in one aspect or more as a result of this pandemic, it can be helpful to think about some positives (albeit minimal as they may seem) during such time. For example, in a hypothetical situation where one may have received a notice of termination from their workplace, it can be extremely devastating from an emotional and financial standpoint.

In such scenario, it doesn’t come as a surprise feeling of anxiousness and powerlessness may surface. That said, there exists other areas in our lives we remain having control over. For instance, shifting our focus to the present could be a useful strategy as we are unable to control the past or the future. Moreover, it can also be helpful to think about what was possibly gained during the period of unemployment. Some possible questions one could rhetorically ask themselves are:

·      Did I have a balance work-life balance before COVID19?

·      The career or job held prior to the pandemic, was it something I’m truly interested in or did I remain in it for other
reasons?

·      What skills or hobbies did you gain during this time? Cooking? Gardening? Mastering Tetris?
Remember: Nothing is too trivial or silly to celebrate. They all count!

·      What strategies did you apply to help you cope during such difficult time? What keeps you motivated on a daily
basis?

·      However chaotic or disruptive the pandemic had cause, what positives from this experience will you incorporate into
your post-COVID19 routine?

3.    Your feelings and emotions are valid

Please do remember that your emotions are valid. No matter what emotion(s) you are experiencing, you are entitled to feel the way you feel and you can also control them.

4.    Practice thinking dialectically

In brief, the word dialectic means what appears to be opposite can both be true and co-exist. Rather than interpreting thoughts or feelings in the black and white manner, dialectical thinking help shifts one’s thinking in a more flexible and fluid way. For example, non-dialectical ways of thinking can be: loving or hating, good or bad, happy or sad.

To illustrate from one of the examples above in a dialectical manner, let’s assume you have been living with your best friend for the past several years and the time has come for him/her/them to move out because your best friend is set to move onto the next chapter of their life with their significant other.

From a dialectical stance, you can feel happy AND sad at the same time. It doesn’t have to be one or the other! Happy at the fact that your best friend has found someone to share future life experiences with and sad that you may not have your best friend to create or share memories with in the place you have both lived any longer.

Evaluate your emotions and situations thus far, can you apply dialectic ways of thinking into them?

Consider: You are doing the best that you can given the current circumstance AND you would like to do better