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Resolutions and goals
for this new year still have us all scratching our heads
because we do not know what can happen day to day, yet even
before this deadly pandemic that was still a truth. None of
us know what will happen tomorrow or the new day or the next
month. We have held on to faith and hope in meeting our
needs and wants but much more this year than ever before in
our lives.
For those of my
readers who have come to follow me and my monthly writings,
you know that I am an enormous fan of humor and comedy as a
way to overcome hard times, coping with that which is out of
our control and even defeating depression. One glorious
component of our human existence is the chemicals released
upon laughing, smiling and having fun. Its free and one
does not need a prescription to laugh to release this
wonderful endorphin to relieve heartfelt pain and
challenging times.
I myself have relied
upon much humor and kind words from mentors and colleagues
who work closely with those affected by COVID. One of those
such persons who wished to remain anonymous is a previous
classmate from undergraduate days of college. We were both
following the path of pre-med, I majored in psychology and
he in biology. Over the years, we have remained in contact
keeping up-to-date on our chosen career paths. He is now a
physician at a hospital system in the Maryland area. Once
COVID became more deadly, we spoke more often exchanging
stories on how we have lost so many clients and patients and
how it affected us personally.
While I assist clients
grieving over the loss of loved ones, he experiences the
death of patient’s daily working 14 – 16 hours a day. We
discussed choices such as: if during our undergraduate
studies we would have known that COVID would one day greatly
affect us in our chosen career paths, would we have changed
our course of study? I am positive these sorts of
discussions are between many a colleague in careers so
closely related in our present day.
Take a mental health
moment to discuss with others and most importantly yourself,
what does COVID life look like in 2021 for you. There is no
acting as if it does not exist, there is no magical
cure if the thought does not exist but there are steps you
can take for your new year. 1 – Don’t be in denial, 2 –
Take the best measures and steps you can to remain safe and
keep those around you safe, 3 – Understand time, nothing
lasts forever not your feelings, emotions nor perspective, 4
– Change with the change, while we cannot at this time enjoy
social entertainment there are alternative ways to enjoy
yourself (don’t isolate), and 5 – Utilize this time to slow
down, think, take a step back, and ask for help (counseling
is not just for deep seated depression, it is there to help
you find insight and think outside of the box for a better
you.)
“Change will not
come if we wait for some other person or some other time, we
are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that
we seek.” Barack Obama
Bernadette
Graham is a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor,
National Certified Counselor and Certified Grief Recovery
Specialist. Provide feedback or reach out at
graham.bernadette@gmail.com For appointment information
please call 419.409.4929 (Telehealth is available for
ongoing and new clients at this time as well as in person
appointments available on Tuesdays and Fridays only). Office
location is 3454 Oak Alley Ct. Suite 300 Toledo, OH 43606
www.bjgrahamcounseling.com
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