If you’re reading this, you deserve a pat on the back and a hug. You’re amazing. If somebody has sent you this, it’s because they want you to read it and think about it and believe it about yourself. All of it.
As a psychiatrist, I treat many people who have endured various types of psychological and emotional trauma. This pandemic has ripped through all of our lives, pulled the rug out from our routines, mercilessly taken away our loved ones and steadily eroded our physical and emotional health. We, as a society, have collectively endured (and continue to endure) psychological trauma since the pandemic started. When treating traumatic stress, it is important to recognize the strengths of the victim.
Here’s a rundown of some of our shared COVID-induced strengths:
- Resilience. Chances are you’ve lost somebody you know to COVID, perhaps even someone you love. Or maybe it was you who became ill and/or was admitted and/or placed on a ventilator in the ICU. And yet, here you are, alive in 2022. We all have some true, deep suffering under our belts, and we’re consequently more prepared to confront large-scale challenges better in the future.
- Acceptance. We’ve recognized that we only have so much control over what happens to us. Although many of us have taken meaningful steps to reduce our likelihood of contraction, illness, and death, we’ve ultimately had no choice but to accept fate and live at its mercy.
- Persistence. Anybody else exhausted? Amidst the chaos, we’ve somehow continued going to school, going to work, or working/learning from home. Many of us were laid off and had to search for other ways to support ourselves and our families. We could have given up, but we knew we had to keep surviving, for ourselves and for those who depend on us.
- Patience. Whether it was waiting for vaccines, waiting for tests, waiting for schools and businesses to reopen, waiting for medical updates about loved ones – or simply waiting for this whole darn thing to be over so that life can return to some sense of normalcy – we’ve become very good at waiting, and this will serve us well when life continues to make us wait for better things to happen.
- Flexibility. The world changed during COVID. We all had to buy webcams and learn how to use Zoom. We learned to adjust our lives, families, and jobs to fit with necessary guidelines.
- Immunity. Not just literal immunity, but also psychological immunity. COVID has, in a sense, left us all with such thick skin that we’ll be well-prepared to confront future large-scale stressors. We’ve gained wisdom: We’ve all been here before, and we now know that our brains and hearts can handle it.
- Community. We’ve found ways to stay in touch with friends. We’ve met new friends and allies. We’ve commiserated, brainstormed, and improvised with those around us. We’ve discovered that we have more in common with our neighbors than we’d realized. We’ve exchanged knowing nods and smiles to strangers who we know are passing through their own unique – but also similar – gauntlets.
- Gratitude. The more people, time, money, opportunities we’ve lost, the more we’ve learned to appreciate what we have. Many of us have rediscovered nature, flowers, trees, birds, the sky. Cooped up in our homes, we’ve noticed and paid more attention to what we can reach and hold on to.
- Courage. We’ve looped masks over our ears and headed to grocery stores and food pantries for meals and supplies. Figuratively, we’ve fearlessly navigated unknown emotional and spiritual territories. We’ve all stood up for whatever we believe in, and, in doing so, we’ve grown into braver souls.
I encourage everyone who has read this to step back and consider your own journey through this shared traumatic experience. Take inventory of your symptoms and needs, and please seek professional help if needed. Openly processing our grief and struggles with friends, loved ones, and/or trusted clinicians is integral to psychological, emotional, and spiritual recovery.
My boss asked me to write a blog post with a positive tone to try and help lift people’s spirits. I hope that these words have achieved even a small part of that goal for you!
