Sanely Surviving COVID-19
Hey Grown Women,
One of the core principals of Grown Woman Life is that grown women leverage life’s lessons.
We have experiences positive and negative, that serve to evolve our knowledge, behavior, character, and approach. I believe growth can only happen if you are acknowledging these experiences and trying to capture the lessons in real-time. This is my way of sharing my lessons with you!
The Situation
This week the reality of COVID – 19 hit me like a Tsunami!
Has anyone else had a bit of a delayed reaction?
Now yes, I knew we are in the middle of a global pandemic. I was not underplaying it or hiding my head in the sand. I was one of the first people in my circle to socially distance (based on travel I had done right before the measures started to be implemented).
As a senior leader in my day job world, I have been actively involved in significant decisions to protect our people and our business.
My husband and I have made decisions to preserve the best interests of our four children. We have taken measures around our finances.
I have been in conversations with friends, colleagues, and family members. I am praying for essential workers, world leaders, and victims survivors and those who have not been so lucky.
I am monitoring the stats, taking the precautions.
I have taken what I considered to be a proactive stance to managing the #coronacrazy.
The Struggle
During all of the above, I did what I do. I was driving to an outcome, a goal. I had “things” I needed to take care of (I still do). So it was easy for me to put my head down and work through it. But was that the right thing to do? I am not so sure.
Now I am feeling the emotional effects of COVID – 19. The frustration of having my world and plans turned upside down. The exhaustion is the bi-product of the extreme change in how we all live life. The anger of having limited ability to control the situation. The anxiety of being forced to live in “a box.” My pain of living in a world where thousands of people are dying every day. The fear of the future.
Trust me, it’s not all doom and gloom, there are so many positive things that I believe we come as a result of the current world crisis, but maybe that is for another lesson.
The Realization
The first thing we do in any crisis is to work through the logistics of it all. How do I take care of myself, my family. How do I make sure I have the necessary resources for today and the future. How do I live up to my particular responsibilities in it all?
Once we have a handle on that, it is way to easy to keep moving forward. But is merely moving forward without identifying our emotions and anxieties the right thing to do? What is the price we pay when we don’t have strategies that are around our mental and emotional health?
For me, it was feelings of depression, expressions of frustration to those who I care about, and a realization that there are strategies we can put in place to help us to manage the situation better. The quicker we put those strategies in place, the better off we are.
The Lesson
It is absolutely essential in times of crisis to manage the “logistics” of the situation, to ensure our safety. But if we don’t leverage previous lessons that we learned that teach us to maintain our emotional and mental health, we may sacrifice our sanity. There has to be a balance.
Check out my Grown Woman Power Play podcast if you want to get some strategies on surviving this time with your emotional health intact.