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In our last post, we covered 5 Healthy WFH Habits, as a response to COVID-19. Undoubtedly, it has caused a disruption in our lives, and we have had to quickly adapt and change our daily routines and lifestyles unexpectedly.
Change is hard to deal with, especially when it is unplanned and forced upon you. Change, such as what we are presently facing takes a toll on our mental health and well-being: it can be scary, stressful, and hard! Our ability to adapt and handle change or adversity is considered a component of our resiliency. A small example: When your phone forces you to update- isn't it annoying when there are so many changes and you can't find things as easily, the buttons aren't where they used to be, and it looks different? However, do you remember what your phone settings were like 5 updates ago - each of those updates became your new normal (i.e. you accepted the change), and I don't really miss my pink flip phone… do you?
“CHANGE IS NECESSARY FOR US TO DEVELOP, EXCEL AND EVOLVE AS INDIVIDUALS, COMMUNITIES, AND AS A SPECIES”
So, don't forget, there are lots of great things about change too! Change is necessary for us to develop, excel and evolve as individuals, communities, and as a species (not just in the realm of our phone settings!). Our ability to adapt to change, also known as our resiliency, is one of many reasons the human species has thrived.
Resiliency is a huge concept to unwrap! To break it down, resiliency can be:
1) the ability to maintain natural functions and endure adversity and;
2) to deal with stress positively and obtaining some benefit from it (Liu et al., 2018) [3].
Tjene is well on its way to #1. We are "maintaining natural functions (of our work) and enduring adversity" by adapting to WFH and operating our 'business as usual' as much as possible, for which we are very fortunate. As for #2: "dealing with the stress positively and obtaining some benefit from it," this manifests at the individual level.
Below are some questions to ask yourself so you can engage in some mindfulness to see how you are coping with the new lifestyle that has been forced upon us all. The goal is to develop our 'coping' into 'thriving' in these changes:
“ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT CONTROL”
It's easy to get carried away with letting our mind race with all the 'what-ifs' and spiral into all the scary outcomes. To constructively channel this energy, acknowledge what you can and cannot control. I encourage you to think about what in this current situation (and in all facets of your life) can you control and do in order to put your mind at ease. It's easier to cope and control your emotions if you can reassure yourself that you are doing everything you can to improve the situation. This also allows you to eliminate what you can't control from your cognitive load. An example in the context of COVID-19 is seen in the image above on what you can and cannot control.
“FOCUSING ON THE GOOD THINGS (BIG OR SMALL) ACTUALLY HAS A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON YOUR MENTAL HEALTH”
This question will ideally help you get back to 'what is in your control' and putting a positive spin on it. How are you channeling the manifestation of change in constructive ways? Focusing on the good things (no matter how big or small) actually has a positive influence on your mental health. If thinking of things you are doing well is challenging, a great way to start this is thinking of at least 3 things you are grateful for every day. Mine for today are: I am grateful for my health, my loving support network, and the dog I am caring for today which put a huge smile on my face!
“FIND WAYS TO REFLECT ON YOUR THOUGHTS SO YOU CAN CATCH YOURSELF BEFORE PANIC OR AGITATION CONSUMES YOU”
It's normal to get panicky when we face adversity, or be reactive rather than fully rational. What's important, is that you are able to catch your thought patterns and eventually pull yourself out of them, or compartmentalize them- so that sense of panic or fear doesn't make its way into all facets of your life and ultimately consume you! Some mindfulness tips for this is to journal your feelings, and once you have managed to step away from the situation, read and look back on those entries to reflect on your thoughts retroactively. It doesn’t have to be journaling, the important part is to find ways to reflect on your thoughts so you can catch yourself before panic or agitation consumes you.
Once you have accepted the change, you will start to see it as your 'new normal'. You may start doing things with more ease, and the 'new' things slowly become more natural to you. Once things start becoming more natural to you, you will have more time to get things moving from 'good' to 'great'. Who doesn't want to be in a state where 'things are going great!'?
As you may have noticed, this post started with the scary, and perhaps negative facets of change. The goal, was to end with positivity around change in order for you to propel that positivity into the ever-changing world around us. By asking yourself the questions above, it’s a good first step in improving your mental health to cope with the uncertainties and taking valuable insight from what we are going through. In doing so, our hope is to all come out stronger, healthier and happier. Positivity is contagious, and positivity also has a huge impact on your mental health…which we will talk about next time!
[1] The Psychology of Leading Change versus Merely Managing it
[2] The Psychology Of Dealing With Change: How to Become Resilient
[5] 5 Ways to Boost your Resilience at Work
