The pandemic has forced many of us to halt our very busy lives, and sit with ourselves and our feelings. For some this has led to great inner turmoil with a long road ahead to feeling better. For me, the ability to not have as much of the outside stimulation day to day, has resulted in my ability to work through a lot of big feelings, resulting in more positive energy to make some necessary big, joyous changes to my life.
I never really understood whether I was an introvert or extrovert. This pandemic has proven to me the need for me to have alone time to recharge and solidified my inner need for introversion regularly, despite my love of social interaction. COVID19 has also provided me that long span of time to continually recharge without the regular day-to-day stimulation that can be energizing and sometimes overwhelming.
Not having the day-to-day stimulation of daily life has allowed me the space to work through big feelings from an immensely difficult 2019. That work allowed me even more space to lean into my desires, resulting in several big changes I’d been wanting for a long time. Home ownership, a promotion at work, piano playing, and becoming a dog mom are four lifestyle changes I made during the past nine months and I couldn’t be happier.
Because of my mental health struggles and consistent mental health work with some incredible professionals, I’ve been forced to learn how to sit with big feelings from a relatively young age. This ability has held me in good stead these past nine months, to be able to make the best out of a heartbreaking, pandemic-filled year.