Learn to live in the present

The year 2020 plunged us into uncertainty with the appearance of an unimaginable pandemic in the past, and 2021 has been loaded with mixed emotions.

The pandemic leaves no room for a sense of freedom, security and predictability, just as we had it before in our lives.

• Related article: "The 8 types of emotions (classification and description)"

The emotional impact of the pandemic

Every day people like you and me come to therapy, (or to coaching sessions) confused, overwhelmed or affected by this endless situation.

We are mercilessly invaded by the most unexpected emotional contradictions, caused by misinformation (sometimes excessive and contradictory and inaccurate on other occasions), and because of the difficulty we have under these circumstances to recover the way of life we ​​had and now we long for.

We feel sad and discouraged many times, and with more intensity than we are used to. Anxiety takes over our peace and envelops us in unpleasant feelings of fear and chaos.

Stress seeps into our lives without asking permission

and our cortisone reacts many times to the limit of getting sick.

Anger and rage take over the reins of our day to day more times than we would like.

Physical and emotional fatigue, generated by the inevitable departure from our comfort zone, takes a toll on each of us in one way or another.

The frustration of seeing our life projects "on hold" drives many people to despair.

There are many young students, or looking for work, who do not see the horizon of their professional careers. There are a large number of couples who have stopped their coexistence or marriage project due to the chaotic reality of COVID-19. Thousands of professionals and entrepreneurs, from multiple sectors, have seen their expectations and their businesses collapse with incalculable emotional pain.

Many children and adolescents are mired in the silent fear of having to go to school with the possibility of becoming ill or of taking the illness home and in some cases the death of a loved one (that's how they think about be quiet).

Many of our young people bet on a dream abroad (work, Erasmus, studies.) "Trapped in time" seeing how their projects have been interrupted without a date or calendar.

The whole society is damaged, some faced with evidence of the losses and others with a silent but very toxic suffering. It is a suffering capable of sinking the emotional fleet of anyone, regardless of their strengths or abilities to manage emotions in the past. It is a suffering that does not discriminate against people, social classes, intellects, self-esteem, beliefs, circumstances. It sweeps away without looking back and leaves the feeling of restlessness in the corners of life, of this life that we are living here and now.

• You may be interested in: "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection"

The need to adapt to the present

The relentless virulence with which this disease is devastating our dreams leaves no other way out than reinvent our model of living life. This year is the year to learn to live in the present and to learn new ways of living fully.

Therapists and coaches are helping each one to discover, recognize and strengthen those personal and psychological resources that they already have, but do not see. We also help those who do not know where to draw strength, or how to increase self-confidence. We help them unlearn old patterns of behavior and we help them manage their emotions for their happiness.

We all have the inner strength necessary to face this and many other moments in life. It is a matter of looking within ourselves and listening carefully to what happens to us in order to make the necessary decisions to improve our day to day life.

The key is to accept the reality we have and focus on the small details that make life easier and more enjoyable. If we can change the "complaint" mode to the "thank you" mode, we will have enough energy to stabilize ourselves. and enjoy life as it is now.

Our lesson as a society, and as human beings, is to learn to turn our here and now into unique, exceptional moments and create a reality according to our needs to achieve the wellness.

To compensate for the psycho-affective decline of social withdrawal in our life we can introduce small gestures that will be our great allies. To do this, it is a good option to recover sensory stimuli, in this way we will get our brain to restart.

Definitely...

The masks have stolen the images of people's faces and with them the messages affective of a smile or facial gestures of acceptance, joy and other codes of language are not verbal. They also prevent us from developing the sense of smell and prevent us from capturing the smells that generate so much well-being due to their affective connotations. I suggest that you use fragrances and air fresheners that evoke nature, the sea, pines, flowers, etc.

The prolonged social distance in time, is isolating us and each time we are closing in the small circle that is allowed us.

The proposal in this case is be careful not to lose contact with our friends, groups or social networks, but not to feed back toxic emotions that are on the surface (anger, sadness, fear, indignation ...), but to strengthen the affective bonds that a simple virus can take from us.

We are in the age of present consciousness. Let us accept reality, be grateful for what we have, join in the lives of others and create a day by day savoring the little moments.

At the end of it all, this pandemic reality invites us to live, since it shows us human vulnerability and that our final destination is to die. Let's live without fear of life, it is the only thing we have.