From Pandemic Fear to Viral Healing
By: Bryan Nixon, MA, LPC
I was recently asked by a friend, what advice would I give as a psychotherapist to those who are struggling during this time. After sitting with that question, I decided it may be worthwhile to share my answer to that question with you too.
As a psychotherapist, and more, as a human, my recommendation for those who may be struggling with uncertainty, overwhelm, anxiety, fear, depression, or relationship struggles during this time would be to find ways to take the pressure off. Find times to exhale, and to welcome the experience you're actually having rather than trying to white knuckle your way into some idealized way of coping that you saw in your social media feed. What you're feeling is normal. Hell, we are in the middle of a global pandemic and none of us have it all figured out. It is absolutely ok to own that and to own the wide range of emotions that come with it.
Find honest and trustworthy people to connect with, to share your honest emotional experience with, and who will do the same with you. The fear that we as a collective are feeling is both universal as well as personal. It can be our teacher if we will turn toward it with curiosity and compassion. Follow the threads of the fear from the universal level (i.e., COVID-19), down into the personal level (i.e., your lived experience). Where in your story have you felt this type of anxiety, powerlessness, helplessness, and fear before? The universal is triggering the personal. Aside from the basics of shelter in place, hand washing, and other general things, there is not much else we can do about the universal nature of the pandemic. But if we can connect with the personal by way of the universal, there is a great deal we can do to heal our own wounds that are being activated and resurfacing during this time. And in that, there is a huge amount of hope that we as a collective can be more integrated, conscious, and connected after the pandemic passes. The pandemic is temporary, but our healing will be lasting and may that healing spread in pandemic fashion.
Additionally, I would say that you don't need to do this alone. If you are struggling, connect with a therapist. Most practices, including our practice, Mindful Counseling GR, can do video sessions right now and most insurance companies are making access to these services pretty easy and affordable right now. If you don’t have insurance, we do offer some sliding fee options as well. And we are all going through this mess together, so our therapists have a deeply felt sense of what you may be experiencing and there is something healing about knowing we are all in it together.
For those of you who have noticed that you are remembering your dreams after waking up in a more pronounced way than usual during this time, I also want to mention that I will be co-facilitating an online dreamwork group with Kent Dobson in which we will be working with people’s dreams to discover what might be trying to get our attention from our unconscious in an attempt to move us towards healing. Dreams can hold a great deal meaning when we are able to slow down and work with them. It will be a six week long group beginning on April 26th through May 31st and is limited to 12 participants. For more information check out: https://www.kentdobson.com/wild-soul-depth-descent
Additionally, hear more of my thoughts on this pandemic on my most recent podcast episode in which I interview Naturopathic and Acupuncture Physician, Dr. Scott Graves. The podcast is called Why in the World and episode is titled: Episode #4 - Dr. Scott Graves - COVID-19 From Fear & Powerlessness to Empowerment & Love
Grace, Peace, & Love to you all,
Bryan Nixon