I have found pandemic counseling sessions have gone from initial crisis management to how to sustain ourselves in these times, despite continued health and financial anxieties. I recognize a new wave of panic rising again in my clients who are parents facing impossible decisions as schools begin again for the fall. Managing online learning while working from home, or sending kids back when it doesn’t feel safe to do so. Thankfully there are many resources out daily to support mood regulation and development of resilience, encouraging us all to develop routines in quarantine, remember to exercise, get outside in safe ways, and find ways to connect with our loved ones. Sometimes it helps to remember we are not alone in our struggles.
In a rare moment to myself this week, I listened The Michelle Obama Podcast. She speaks to us with such grace, wisdom and intimacy, exploring the relationships that make us who we are. Vogue Magazine reflected that “...her true superpower may be using her platform to be vulnerable and give voice to people’s true struggles.”
Mrs. Obama shared candidly about her experience referencing the pandemic and the recent racial justice uprising:
“I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression. I’m waking up in the middle of the night because I’m worrying about something, or there’s a heaviness. I try to make sure I get a workout in, although there have been periods throughout this quarantine [when] I just have felt too low.” Does this sound familiar? It did to me.
I was grateful for her honesty in sharing about her own experience of depression because each time someone speaks so publicly about mood struggles it reduces stigma and makes room for others to say, yes, I’m struggling too.
Mrs. Obama also encourages us to explore our relationships with ourselves, and to seek connection with others despite our ongoing isolation and social distancing.
“When we open up about what we are going through, we can better identify our inner voices and listen to them without feeling guilty. That’s where change starts. Because we can’t show up for the world if we don’t take care of ourselves first. That’s where our truest power lies - right inside our minds and hearts.”
Mrs. Obama does this in her podcast through intimate conversations with those closest in her life. But she could have been describing the work we do in counseling, connecting deeply to our own stories to deepen our understanding of ourselves and how we show up in the world, and how we derive meaning in connection with others. I hope you’ll find some time to listen to her encouraging words. To keep finding ways to tend to the relationships that matter most in your life. It can help regulate our emotions to connect with those we love, even from a distance.
