What is making you angry?
It feels like there’s a lot of anger about right now – living in Melbourne last week we saw some super unsettling demonstrations of anger by disenfranchised people in response to the extended lockdowns, mandated COVID-19 vaccinations, an enforced shut-down of the construction industry and probably a lot of other things too. And at a global level there’s so much to get angry at that the list would be unending.
How’s your relationship going during lockdown?
Globally, we have seen country after country navigate various forms of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. In some places, like here in Melbourne we’re still navigating it! And, all over the world, from Australia to the UK, to South Africa to Brazil and everywhere in between couples have found their relationships having to flex to adjust to a whole bunch of new relationship stressors. Let’s be super honest, we really weren’t designed to spend so much time confined in a limited space with the same people day after day, week after long week!
Becoming emotionally literate
Emotions.
Feelings.
Same, same, different.
It’s complicated because there are two words that we use to describe something that is often quite similar but also there are some important differences. And, given that as human beings we tend to find it SUPER difficult to articulate what our emotional state is (or what we’re feeling) I thought it might be useful to break this down a little bit.
Be here now.
Been thinking a lot this week about how much of a challenge it is for many of us to be fully present in the moment, as opposed to been drawn either into the past or dreaming of the future. And never has that been more of a challenge than for many of us right now navigating these seemingly unending lockdowns. When we are uncomfortable (as so many of us are in 2021) with the here and now we find ourselves longing for days past when we enjoyed freedoms and travel that we can’t access now, or we spend time drifting off to focus on all the things we long to do when things change.