It’s a global pandemic. Many of us are stuck together in close quarters with our frustrated kids and some potential additional family members we may or may not get along with. Quiet moments are rare for parents of young or demanding children unless you have a lock on the door in the bathroom and some high quality noise cancelling headphones for those high pitched screams and bangs on the door.
Some of you may be working to keep your jobs while others are scrambling to figure out how to make ends meet. Let’s face it: feelings of anxiety, sadness, guilt, fear, anger, over whelm, boredom, dread, apathy, resentment or jealousy may be coming up for you. We judge these feelings harshly as negative and we label them as such because we react to them with pain, discomfort, disgust or shame. We find creative ways to escape them, suppress, numb or deny them. Despite our efforts to keep up that “positive vibe,” at one point the battle to dodge these negative feelings may leave us feeling exhausted, defeated, more fearful or sick.
Contrary to what you may think, if you deeply desire to tame these feeling so they don’t control your life, facing and observing these “icky” feelings with curiosity and neutrality is the first step. By examining these feelings as an entity of their own, outside of yourself, you can gain a better awareness of their nuances and mechanisms. The insightful information that you will attain will allow you to more easily develop your own agency for overcoming them.
Just like the closet you want to avoid cleaning, or the creepy crawlies you have yet to say hello to in your basement, your shadow feelings are waiting patiently to be called out, examined, validated and given your due attention.
Is your family stressing you out? Have you discovered new ways to cope with your partner and children during COVID-19? Share your wisdom and find support from amazing people like you on Huddol.