Life is challenging. During COVID19, it has become even more challenging, with the most normal of human activities and behaviors (think: hugs, handshakes, dinner parties) not safely possible. It's a strange time, one that is ideal for reflection, introspection, self-analysis and personal growth. Usually many of us are so busy being busy that we are too tired to find the time and quiet to focus on personal growth. I've heard some of my friends and colleagues struggling with restlessness, anxiety and depression. In all likelihood, these issues have always been there, and the dramatic change that COVID has brought to our lives has served to bring them into our awareness.
All of this is just part of being human. We normally divide thoughts, feelings and actions into "good" and "bad" or "positive" and "negative" experiences. Naturally, we try our best to avoid the "negative" and cultivate the "positive". But, all of it is part of who we are. Denying our experience when it's painful only guarantees that the feeling will remain, lurking just below the surface of our conscious awareness, where it is likely to emerge at exactly the least appropriate time.
My clients learn how to cultivate compassion for themselves so that they can hold and process the range of human experience. Whatever you're doing, feeling, thinking - please be gentle with yourself!