By Kira Wiggins, Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee
I sit at my desk, fingers twitching, eager to peck at the letters on my keyboard. I hesitate, type out a few words, sigh, delete the non-sensical line, and attempt to start over. Maybe I should do a little more research? I deliberate about my ability to write this. Do I really have information that will help my community through quarantine, uncertain health and safety, possible financial ruin, and an extraordinary lack of distraction from ourselves?
My struggle is born from the undeniable truth that I don’t believe a panacea for the mental and emotional strain this pandemic has invoked exists. Yet, I still wish to help, to connect, to support, to build resiliency in each of us. Maybe a remedy is not what is called for here, but a humbler approach.
Finding resiliency
According to Merriam-Webster, resiliency is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change. We must figure out how to adapt to the shifting story around us. We need to prepare to recuperate from the pain and adversity we are stockpiling while we rush to figure out where our next roll of toilet paper will come from or how we will afford the groceries. Right now, we don’t need to know how it will all be fixed. We just need to know how to acclimate in the day-to-day difficulty.
While building resiliency will be a lifelong project for most of us, we can all increase our durability with some attention to how we live our lives. Through this “resiliency series,” I will offer some small building blocks aimed at growing our inner strength and endurance. Maybe, just maybe, we will expand our capacity for love, connection, and empathy for we are all in this together.
Our series
This is the first article of a four-part series. This series will focus on the effects of stress on our systems and some ways to better manage the inevitable stress we face. We will also look at the importance of adequate sleep. We’ll walk through some sleep hygiene practices to help attain that often elusive well-rested, refreshed feeling we all crave and need.
Confidence in our immune system is important now more than ever. Together, we’ll dive into the ways in which we can tap into the body’s innate abilities to fight off infection and stay healthy. I will be honored to have you join me on this journey toward resilience. Thanks for being here.
Kira is a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee at Ventura Counseling and Wellness Center and West Valley Counseling Center. She combines her background as a registered dietitian and yoga therapist with her counseling. The result is a holistic approach to your health and wellbeing.
