Guide: Processing Our Changing World
These past few weeks…It seems like we all could use a hug. For some of us, we’ve watched as a new virus has come into our communities. We’ve seen the places we go, our workplaces, our schools, our restaurants, all shut down. For some, we’ve moved the entirety of our lives into our homes, when it used to be comprised of so many different places and people. For others, we’ve watched on as other parts of the world have met this unfamiliar force has swept their homes and continues to leave devastation in it’s path.
Regardless of your personal experience, we are all being touched by Coronavirus. Daily and hourly our world continues to change. Change itself is scary, as the very definition is “to make or become different.” As human beings, we’ve created routines, patterns, ways to be, and even if that involves a great deal of change that you prefer, there is now a great deal of different, unknown, and limit placed into our lives.
As human beings we are wired for connection. And when we look a the people around us, whether that is immediately in our community, or in other parts of the globe, it is very easy to empathize and carry a great deal of pain in our hearts for the people who are so greatly hurting right now. For me, every time I think of students and young people who find safety and comfort in school I get a knot in my throat.
And as we try to make sense of all of this, our brain is most likely looking for answers. I was told once in one of my training sessions that the brain doesn’t like the unknown, so it pieces together what it can to make something certain. This certainty might come from going to the grocery store. It might mean trying to carry on. And in the midst of all of this, we keep processing, and I know personally I’ve also become overwhelmed with guilt for not knowing what we should be doing, or not understanding the right thing.
And of course, there are the recommendations from the CDC and WHO that we can be following. Beyond that, there might not be a very clear way to make sense of all of this. But what we can do is do the best we can to take care of ourselves, our people, and our communities. In order to do that, we need to take a moment to process what is going on in our brains, and find a way to step into tomorrow.
In fact, as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy shows, there is value in naming the “negative” feelings we might be having and acknowledging they are there and it is ok. When we part some of the clouds and greet some of the feelings that we are grappling with right now, we make space for inviting in positive components into the brain too. Research shows that when we prime our brains for positivity, we receive a great number of advantages compared to a neutral or negative brain, ranging from stress to life span.
So now is the time to start naming what we are feeling, connecting with those thoughts and the people around us, and for making a little room for joy too. Because we not only need it, but your brain does too.
Use the guide below to help guide your brain through the process of naming your feelings, and finding some ways to approach them. Be on the lookout for part 2 of this series to integrate more joy into your changed world!
Join us tomorrow, March 18th at 7pm CST, on Instagram Live (@tayler_duden) to discuss your answers and walk through this chart together. Let’s reach out, brainstorm, and connect!
