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My daughter looked like she knew exactly what she was doing. At least, that was my thought when I watched her blotching ink ever so studiously. She looked the part, but did she really know?
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It made me wonder about the flurry of activity around COVID-19 and mental health, which has been propelled to one of the hottest topics since almost everyone is experiencing varying degrees of loneliness, frustration, anxiety, and disorientation in their respective lockdowns, confinement, and reboot into reality.
Expert after expert, free webinar after free webinar, PDFs of resources after PDFs of resources… Everyone quoted seemed to look the part too, and spoke the part, and wrote the part, but do they really know?
Knowledge wise, I am sure they did. They probably looked very “had it together despite the mess in the world” on screen. However, I would dare say they have all had moments of collapse, panic, and breakdown of some in the last few months. The predictions of how this virus would affect the way we work, the economy, what the “new normal” would look like, and how this pandemic would affect our mental health, are guesses.
We don’t know. None of us know. And we won’t know – until we get there.
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There is enough in this world telling us about things we have to do and say, draw boundaries, set routines, keep exercising indoors… So many of us are trying to be strong, be brave, be productive, be operational. Maybe we can be a mess for a little bit? The altar of productivity is not the only choice.
So, I offer a different dimension, and taking the inspiration from the recent interview of a friend on the topic of trust during COVID-19, the pertinent question is: “Where do you fall?”
How is this crisis hurting you?
Where does it hurt the most?
As you fall down, where do you land?
And who is there with you still?
It is those questions that I find meaningful for our mental health, because they help us feel all of ourselves, take stock of where we are mentally, and open up the space for us to explore our thoughts. Mental wellbeing is not just about feeling good or not feeling bad. It is a deeper understanding of who we are, so we can really know how does what make us feel, then really draw the boundaries on those tasks, time, relationships, demands, space, and then interact fully with our environment, context, and people in the most appropriate way for yourself – and the world.
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Mental health is every body's business.
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My friend, in his interview, also urges us to think about: “Who benefits from our existence, and how?” In terms of each other’s well being, this is very relevant. The advice floating around on the Internet has its merits, but virus or not, how can your existence help one lonely anxious or depressed person out there on any given day?
Be well - as well as your messiness takes you.
Enoch
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If you are feeling lonely, desperate, frustrated, angry, hopeless, depressed, anxious… please do reach out to the support available online. Here are some resources the Global Mental Health Peer Network put together, mainly of our lived experience.
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Online Well Being Webinars
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We have had our challenging time, we have had our down time, and we are still here.
To help your company and employees continue to adapt to the changing situation, we have designed a series of Online Webinars covering topics of mental wellbeing, resilience, stress, and team collaboration, working from home or not.
Even when they go back to the office, there is the adjustment to make mentally of social contact and concerns for one’s health. All of these will affect their work.
Contact us to discuss.
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FOR A MENTALLY HEALTHY WORLD
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