Last week I introduced the topic of change and how many people may have a belief that the so called good old days are long behind. This week I would like to talk about how some people are coping with changes and how maybe we can use these strategies ourselves.
One change that we are all going through is living with Covid 19. Whether the pandemic is over or not doesn’t matter. It has still affected our lives and we have been making many changes to deal with it. One of many ways that people have been coping with the virus and how it has affected their lives, according to a survey conducted in Australia is with humour.
Being able to laugh at memes about the pandemic, making jokes about the stockpiling of toilet paper by Australians or even just watching exercise challenges completed by people online during lockdown can be amusing.
Humour is a great way to regulate emotions. It is important to take control of your emotions but of course not supress them. If we could just harness our feelings of anger or fear into laughter, I think we are on the right track to coping with change. Through my personal experience with emotional regulation, I have been able to think more clearly, not over react to small problems, and give myself the time and space to enjoy life more by developing a positive attitude.
Another thing that was mentioned in the survey is acceptance. We need to accept change. What is it that many people tell me? That’s right Just let it go. I am guilty of not letting things go. I think I always thought that letting go means to drop something from my mind. I can’t do this. From leaning how to deal with change myself, I realize that a bad experience thought or feeling does not need to be pushed aside. It will gradually lose its power when we just accept it as being part of life.
We will continue our talk about change next week and if you are needing help coping with life and would like to talk about it feel free to contact me.
storysolutionstherapy@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/CounsellorTrent/
https://twitter.com/Story_Solutions
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0020764020961790
