What is your off switch?
Do you use it?
I have been working as a therapeutic coach for over 15 years and not
surprisingly extremely busy since March 2020. Through the hundreds
of conversations, I have noticed several patterns of behaviour and thought in
the people who are struggling.
Responding to the pandemic as a threat with either a freeze, flight or
fight response.
Distorting reality using one of the following five disempowering strategies.
Catastrophising –
making every mole hill into a mountain. In their self-talk using words like,
always, never, every-time.
Me, Me, Me – making
everything your fault and your responsibility.
Them, Them, Them Interpretation
every situation as the fault or the responsibility of someone else, eliminating
any possible control, influence or power for themselves.
Mind reading.
Deciding what is or isn’t in the thoughts of someone else without any evidence
to support it. invariably, the manifested thoughts are negative, and
unsupportive.
Helpless, Hopeless, Worthless. Using internal self-talk that results in the feelings of helplessness,
hopelessness, or worthlessness.
And yet many people are surviving and event thriving physically, psychologically,
emotionally, even financially, in the pandemic.
I have noticed in conversations with people who are doing well
psychologically since March there are patterns in how they are thinking,
believing and behaving.
Common patterns of those who are thriving include,
o
Control
/ influence. – noticing where they have control and influence and where they
don’t and focus on where they do.
o
Forward
focused and optimistic
o
Physically
active
o
Spend
time outside.
o
Aware –
notice things in their environment, their thoughts, their feelings, changes
in others.
o
Have a
sense of purpose.
o
Use
gratitude, meditation, or prayer.
o
Creative
writing or journaling
o
Spend
little time looking at a screen.
o
Have a
creative hobby.
In the past few week, the
importance of having a creative hobby is what has really stood out for me as an
important tool for mental well being. I have noticed how few people have either
never had or have given up hobbies that don’t rely on a screen. It seems, for
many, that hobbies have been squeezed out, given up, cast aside during
university, not to be picked up again. Those that have retained their hobbies,
re-engaged with them, or found new ones, them tell me how valuable their
hobbies are, giving them time to turn off, and recharge. For some they have
found lockdown an opportunity to try new skills, maybe out of boredom, to
discover pleasure and a sense of achievement.
If you are struggling with boredom,
anxiety, insomnia, especially in the dark evenings of lockdown, I would invite
you to, turn off the screen, experiment and try a creative hobby. Popular hobbies
seem to include;
- baking,
- knitting,
- crocheting,
- dress making and other needlecrafts,
- painting, including painting by numbers,
- card making,
- playing a musical instrument
- creative writing and journaling
- jigsaws
You may think the list of hobbies
sounds old fashioned, boring, or uncool, please don’t knock it until you have
tried it, they seem to be a very common strategies for those people who are
coping well.
What are your hobbies how have they
helped you in the pandemic?
If you don’t have a hobby, what interests
you and what will you take up?
Please share your thoughts and your pictures.
Stay safe, Stay healthy, Stay happy
We work with aspirational,
Dentists who are stressed, having difficulties, want to take their practice to
the next level.
We create a personalised step
by step programme so that you can have the career, the practice, the life you
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