‘Just breathe, you are strong enough to handle your challenges, wise enough to find a solution to your problems and capable enough to do whatever needs to be done. ~Lori Duchene
How often is it useful to remind ourselves of that quote?
Some days it would be a really useful mantra, when life challenges seem to be coming thick and fast. I don’t know about you but wisdom sometimes feels a little elusive from me at those times; but thankfully here we are, still taking one step at a time and finding that however difficult it’s been, we’ve managed.
In the wellbeing week at Birchwood Park, I hope that you found a little time out of your day to engage with some of the activities that were planned. There were some great sessions to introduce you to different ways of thinking about wellbeing and to give you more tools for taking care of yourself in the busyness of life now that we are getting back to some kind of new normal.
I think many of us have found that to be a little overwhelming after so many periods of forced isolation and lack of social contact. It seems to be one of the lingering effects of several lockdowns. Have you experienced a little more social anxiety than you’ve ever noticed before about being in crowded spaces (numbers which wouldn’t have even felt like a crown pre-covid)? Maybe it’s taking your mind a little longer to process stuff now that you are back in the workplace rather than working from home? I certainly find that some days, thoughts take a bit longer to complete, or I get easily distracted by the things going on around me so have to work harder to focus on the moment at hand. Both of those things can be quite exhausting compounded by our bodies still getting used to being out and about more, the stress of travel to and from work when we’ve only had to walk to another room for so long, not being able to just take a minute to pop the kettle on and have a quick breather from technology as and when.
If you recognise any of these issues and would like someone to talk this through with, as chaplains part of our role is to help you find ways of nourishing yourself, giving yourself time to explore what will help you to feel positive and hopeful in life. We are that listening ear that you can bounce thoughts, hopes or concerns onto. We can also sign-post you to organisations that provide extra support in a range of situations. We’re here to listen whatever you would like to talk about and if you just want to break up your day with a light-hearted conversation that’s great too. We are just as welcoming of sharing in your good times as we are at listening if you need to talk through concerns. Our aim is always to leave you feeling a little lighter in mood. There is usually a chaplain around the Engine Rooms / Duck Pond area on Monday and Wednesday lunchtimes.
If you don’t manage to catch up with a chaplain on site, as always you can contact us via email on info@mitechaplaincy.com where you can request a call-back, or you are very welcome to call me (Debbie) directly on my mobile: 07526 378529 either to chat or to arrange a time to meet up with one of the chaplains.
We also have a range of resources on our web-site including some that are more specific to the Covid-19 outbreak and some that help in dealing with stress: https://mite.org.uk If you prefer you can easily keep in touch with us on social media: Facebook: @mitechaplaincy Twitter: @mitesthwarr
Photo by Zo Razafindramamba on Unsplash