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LIFESTYLE

lived here and now. Yes, by all means we
can work towards a better tomorrow. Yet
to do so, we must navigate the world as it is
today, successfully. Our happiness depends
on our self-reliance, our willingness to take
responsibility for our lives, regardless of who
or what had a hand in making life the way it is
now. It is about taking control of our present
circumstances and making a rm choice to
choose di erently. It is about having a pro-
active mindset to life, not a victim mentality.
The challenge is to stop all the focus going
towards feeding a COVID narrative at the
expense of alternative narratives and stories
of resilience. Currently, life is challenging
in terms of the practicalities that we are
experiencing. But life is also very interesting
at the moment. Depending on how we
choose to look at it... we might be pleasantly
surprised. We need to try and stop expecting
things to be a certain way. We need to try and
appreciate them for what they are.

6. Build your community
When times are tough, having the right
people around is one of the most important
things we can do for ourselves. We want to
surround ourselves with people who are
loving, caring, honest and available. We
need them to be loving because love makes
the bad days seem better. Caring, because
it helps to know someone cares. Honest
and available, because we need someone
who can look us in the eye and tell us the
truth. Their honesty may be that one piece
of information you need to get through the
tough time because their perspective di ers what has happened to us. There may be new
from yours. They provide a fresh set of eyes to ways to approach life, decisions to be made
the challenge. So, build your community with and changes to embrace. If we can respond
people who share the mindset of changing actively rather than passively, we may be able
and adapting to the current situation. Grow to prevent secondary problems. Sometimes
together and challenge the old ways of doing adapting to a major upheaval requires being
things. willing to engage in problem-solving and
trying new things. Adapting can be di cult.
7. Be kind to yourself People tend to resist change, especially
Prioritising self-care is a necessity to survive when they feel vulnerable or threatened. But • Marital, Couples & Family
any tough situation. The famous adage “you adapting is a liberating process. Remain open Therapy
can’t pour from an empty cup” rings true. to recreating life as you move into the future. • Counselling Children,
While you might not have time for your The more we adapt to our situation, the more Adolescents & Adults
e ectively we will be able to cope with it...
usual healthy habits or might not have the and move forward. • “Teen” Challenges
motivation at the moment, you can still • Behavioural & Adjustment
take good care of yourself. For instance, if Challenges
you cannot prepare a nutritious meal, try In closing • Stress-Related Challenges
and order a healthier takeaway option. If It is easier to get through a di cult time when • Adjustment to Depression &
you cannot go to the gym because it is still we know the chances of it happening again Anxiety
prohibited, go for a walk. are small. Currently, we are rather confused as • Subject & Career Counselling
to what is happening, and whether life with
Avoiding negative emotions may feel like Covid-19 will continue into 2021. However, • Psychometric Testing
an e ective measure but, in fact, it simply we can still practice acceptance in terms For an appointment please call
postpones and perhaps increases negative of letting go of what we cannot control. By 083 376 1995
emotions going forward. You might worry focusing less on the things we cannot control,
that your emotions will be too overwhelming. we start worrying less about these; then we Fees are charged according to Scale of
Try and gain a bit of perspective before will achieve clarity concerning things within Bene ts
jumping into the worst-case scenario. If you our control.
need help, ask for it. Do not wait until you
feel completely at a loss. If you nd yourself I am advocating that we call an end to Pr. Nr. 0860000114022
in a cycle where the emotions are too much, the crisis reaction to everything. When we Reg. No.: PS 0080543
contact a professional psychologist for allow crisis reactions to de ne our lives and
assistance. mindsets, we burn out. We become anxious
and depressed. We have less energy and less
8. Adapt and change focus to nd solutions. Calling an end to the
Our ability to cope relies in part on our ability crisis reaction helps us shift into a calmer and
to make adaptive changes in response to more solution-oriented mindset. BV

BLUE VALLEY NEWS • Issue 3 2020 • 17