Easing Back To Life After Covid

By: Melody Rabor-Dizon

 

It’s beautiful once again to go outside and see life. People walking their pets, dining in a restaurant, going to the mall, attending parties without masks. What a relief!

As I ponder on what transpired over the last 14 months, we have all been unhealthy in many ways. Coping skills were tested to the max, rallied for a week or two, only to sulk in the corner, inhale food, stay in the couch to watch endless Netflix movies, wear jammies all day and be stagnant in that 1 comfortable position. The situation paralyzed many – losing loved ones, limited our freedom, rationed our essentials, feeling caged in, not being with loved ones and absolutely nowhere to go and as if it were not enough, people losing jobs, caving in to depression and grieving for the losses we incurred.

Life as I know it, came to a screeching halt with the pandemic, however I would rather weigh in on the positives that outweighed the negatives

When time stood still during pandemic:

• It taught me things that are productive and counterproductive.

• How communication is very important for any relationships

• How we ought to carve time for quality moments- eating and playing together.

• People stayed together and people started praying together

• People buy only what is essential and not in excess

• People started cooking at home

• Free time meant learning new things, resting our minds, planning next steps

• Ability to evaluate what we have

• Create a new process of doing things – tele visit, zoom meetings

• Sort things out at the house- sort of purging.

• Realizing that what we have is more than enough

• Realization that we can live on few

• Realization what is most important in our lives – not our career, not money, not houses but having full and fulfilling relationship with each other

Here are tips I gathered when easing back to after covid life:

• Be kind to yourself. I, for one, gained so much unwanted pounds. I coped my way through covid the best way I can. That signaled anxiety, stress that caused an overproduction of cortisol hormones, sleeping a lot, overeating, under-moving and all other unhealthy approach.

• Go slowly as you ease back into your old routine, and remember that there is no right way to feel about it.

• Manage expectations and be realistic with change. We can’t make people act or think the way we do. There will always be 2 sides of the continuum. Creating an unrealistic goal could make things more difficult than it already is.

• Be aware and check in with yourself how you feel- you may panic in a crowded restaurant, have sleepless nights because of anxiety, restless because you are going back to work. Mindfulness and mentally preparing ourselves too on how we approach these things is very important.

• Watch your pace. Do not do new things all at once. Don’t overschedule.

• Get rid of the “shoulds” when it comes to feelings. As it is, it is hard to predict how we will feel. There is no right or wrong reaction. Don’t add to your own pressures by believing that you “should” feel a certain way.

• Communicate clearly. Don’t be afraid to say no to things you are not yet comfortable with; don’t over-personalize differences of opinion about what is ok to do and what isn’t; and listen and speak respectfully when it comes to negotiations with friends and family about what is reasonable for gatherings, celebrations, and trips.

• Set aside time for selfcare during this period of change. Prioritize all the same self-care techniques that were important during the initial stress of lockdown. Any disruption to what we’ve grown accustomed to can take a toll on the body and mind, even if it’s a welcome disruption.

• Remember that it is a process. The return to something that resembles pre-covid life will likely take far, far longer than how long it took to go from normal to lockdown in the beginning of the pandemic. It is a gradual process, with different milestones, different levels of risk, and different timelines for different activities with different people. Most of all, be patient with yourself, and with others. The more we can embrace this transition as a path to keep moving forward on, rather than a switch to be flipped, the more ready we’ll be for bumps along the way.

I thank God, our almighty, as He is still a good good Father. He is in control of our lives. He still sits on the throne of grace and knows even the number of hairs we have in our head. He makes all things beautiful in His time. He makes things brand new and He will turn around any disadvantage we have to advantage. God is good all the time.