COVID-19 flipped our world. We were confused, afraid, suffered, adapted – and learned a lot about ourselves and others. As we get ready to plant our feet in the new normal, there is time to prepare for our landing in a changed world. Here are a few items to include on your re-entry checklist.
Be a Better Person In-Person
Virtual meetings can be transactional. Greet each other, work the agenda, click end-meeting. Lost are casual conversations about family, goals, and hardship. It’s hard to feel empathy on Zoom. And the people you seldom see online, the support staff, are those who the pandemic may have affected the most.
As we return to in-person work and the opportunity to reconnect, avoid assuming others had the same experience. Everyone’s story is different. Make it your goal to listen and lend support. Like old soldiers, some won’t talk about it, and some may act out. Be sensitive to the signals and allow them space and time to recover.
Heal Your Fractured Relationships
Frustrations from isolation, financial stress, and forced proximity have led to words not easily taken back. Differences in adhering to mask-wearing, social distancing and vaccination triggered COVID shaming from one side and aspersions of paranoia from the other.
Like a favorite picture fallen from the shelf, the shattered glass will remind us of broken relationships long after the pandemic resides. Time will heal some relationships; others may never mend. It is up to us which outcome prevails. Humility is the first step in realizing we are all humans sharing the same tragic experience. Next is to acknowledge when we discounted the legitimacy of another’s personal priorities and choices.
Ultimately, it comes down to grace – seeing the goodness in the person we know and choosing to forgive, forget or, regrettably, write off the relationship altogether.
Open Your Mind to Mental Health
Worry and stress have taken their toll. Reports of anxiety and depression have increased dramatically¹ , and thoughts of suicide have increased². Particularly affected are women who shouldered the burden of work and childcare during school closures and low-income workers who lost their livelihoods.
History shows the impacts of disaster can last for years. Now is not the time to “tough it out” on mental health, either yours or those you love. If you find someone struggling, set aside time for a non-judgmental talk. Let them share at their pace, respect what they are feeling and avoid arm-chair diagnosis. Offer assistance finding professional support and, if possible, role model that therapy is a good thing.
Know your limits and if there is immediate danger, make sure they and others are safe. See the Mental Health Foundation for more tips.³
Help the ‘Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round’
Detours on the path to success have affected children of all ages; teenagers missed traditional milestones, youngsters face learning gaps, and toddlers, well, this is their normal.
We think children are resilient, but that does not make them immune: preschoolers may regress, sucking their thumb or clinging to parents. Elementary students may become irritable and seek to avoid school. Teenagers may become rebellious or withdrawn.⁴
Staying tuned to behaviors, progress, and maintaining perspective is the order of the day to bring children back on track. Think through each transition from a kid’s perspective and identify what you can do to soften their landing.
Lighten up on your pre-pandemic expectations. Don’t blow the engine pushing the pedal to the floor in a race to make up lost ground.
Honor the Heroes and Those We’ve Lost
More than 3,600 healthcare workers have perished in the pandemic, with many deaths attributed to the lack of adequate protective equipment⁵. Additionally, one-quarter of health care workers show signs of PTSD⁶. When asked for reasons of dismay, they describe “an ineffective federal government and frustration at medical skepticism.” Instead of a ticker-tape parade, let us honor them by demanding better preparation and de-politicizing medical science.
Less heralded are those who kept things running while many of us retreated to the safety of our home offices. The essential workers: public safety, custodians, teachers, childcare workers, grocery clerks, delivery people, transportation, factory, and farm workers all deserve our newfound respect, affordable health care, and a living wage.
High honor goes to the more than 300,000 elderly over age 75 who perished, mostly out of sight – and for too many of us, out of mind. Far from expendable, without these grand mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts, our world would not exist.
It’s too late to make it up to those who perished, but we can honor their memory by recognizing their contributions and caring for the survivors. Give Grandma and Grandpa a call today!
Remember, It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
We’re all chomping at the bit for our own version of the Roaring ’20s but proceed with caution. There is still a ways to go until we reach the herd immunity target of 80% vaccinated or recovered. Hopefully, we come close to that goal this Fall.
Until then, savor each morsel of reopening and look forward to what Bob Marley prayed for:
References
1. The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use, Kaiser Family Foundation, February, 10, 2021
https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/
2. Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, June 24–30, 2020, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 14, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm
3. How to support someone with a mental health problem, Mental Health Foundation, April 21, 2021, https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/supporting-someone-mental-health-problem
4. Helping Children Cope With Changes Resulting From COVID-19, National Association of School Psychologists, April 19, 2021, https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/health-crisis-resources/helping-children-cope-with-changes-resulting-from-covid-19
5. 12 Months of Trauma: More Than 3,600 US Health Workers Died in Covid’s First Year, Kaiser Family Foundation, April 6, 2021, https://khn.org/news/article/us-health-workers-deaths-covid-lost-on-the-frontline/
6. Burnout, Alcohol, PTSD: Health Workers Are Suffering, Yale School of Medicine, February 17, 2021,
https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/30378/
