Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Are you exhausted watching or reaching the news. Tired of hearing about Covid, does the word itself just make you cringe a little. For the past 18 months it’s been everywhere; on the news, all over social media, in the entrance to every place you go. Things were feeling ok here in Aotearoa, but for the last few months it has come in hard and heavy - I don’t even mean the disease itself but everything that comes with it. Lockdowns, masks, vaccinations, mandates, media coverage. It’s come in fast and it’s intense, the conversations around it are strong and divisive.
There’s so much information and mis-information and quite often it’s hard to tell the difference. Just trying to wade through the data alone is a little overwhelming. It’s easy to get caught in a warren hole, to go down an endless tunnel in either direction and I guess that’s the scary thing - to know for sure what is right and/or wrong.
I’m not here to tell you what to think or even to share my opinion on what we should or shouldn’t do. What I am here to tell you is that it’s ok to feel overwhelmed, to not feel certain or to feel completely uncertain. It’s ok to be over it, to be frustrated by everything that’s happening (or in some cases what hasn’t happened). And it’s more than ok to turn it off …. Now I know that’s almost impossible right now because it’s everywhere but if your mental health isn’t dealing (or you just can’t be f**ked) anymore then go on ahead and unfollow that person who is always posting about it on social media, unfollow the news channels you follow or just take a little social media break, don’t watch or read the news and if someone wants to talk about, know that’s it’s more than ok to politely say you don’t want to talk about it right now.
Let’s not let it take away our humanity, it doesn’t need to be divisive, it doesn’t need to create aggression or judgement…if we choose not to let it.
Our human experience is different, our thoughts and opinions based on our upbringing, religion, socio-economic position, the people around us, what we have read, our experience with the medical system, how we feel about authority and our government, our employment situation and so much more. They’re influenced by whether we have children, older parents, family or friends overseas …. There’s SO much that goes into how we think and form opinions. Of course we will all feel a little different, that’s more than ok. As long as we don’t start to turn those differing opinions into negative feelings or actions, as long as we can see past that and see that we are all making what we believe is the best choice for us.
For most things I’m pretty keen for a debate and to hear all sides but TBH right now I don’t want to and I think most people feel the same. So for now, I reckon do what’s right for you and chill, no need to talk about it if you don’t want to, no need to comment or reply to comments on social media, no need to even share your vax status if you don’t want to. Take a little break from the media and tap into nature, reconnect with yourself and with your friends (as long as they’re down to ditch the covid chat of course), go phone free in the bush or at the beach for a day or a weekend, disengage from anything that brings out that anxiety. And when and if you’re ready you can re-engage, hopefully a little refreshed.
Here’s to understanding, here’s to kindness, here’s to open minds and open hearts. With love x