Over the last few months, we’ve had to restrict our movements, and it reminds me of a time when I lived in Antrim. The Parades Commission was set up make rulings over contentious parades, one of these parades was Drumcree the Orange Order walked on the Garvachy Road, predominantly Catholic area. There was an air of anxiety. People anxiously went shopping during the day, and in the evenings Antrim was like a ghost town. I felt safe working and living on the grounds of the hospital. It was when I stepped outside the grounds I felt the fear. Working in the hospital, there was a sense of protection. After the Drumcree March, life returned to normal and the despair lifted. However, for some, the fear that they had felt didn’t disappear, it developed and engulfed them.
Over the last few months, I have been reminded of living on the grounds of the hospital and feeling safe. There has been a safety in remaining at home, with COVID19 being outwith the confines of our home. Our perception and our memories have an influence on how we feel, think and behave. If you had got onto a bus in Belfast in the 1980s and someone got onto a bus wearing a mask, you knew your journey was going to be a short one. The last few months have been confusing. This virus is new, experts had to learn and understand the means of how it is passed from one person to another. Firstly we are told to stay at home, to keep social distancing and wash our hands. Then there is confusion about whether or not to wear a mask. Then we are told yes we can return to work, then we are told we have to wear a mask on public transport, then within shops. Watching the news, we see people, not social distancing. This is a snapshot of a few seconds on a particular day, and in comparison to the empty streets, we saw a few months ago, it can be scary. Recently I visited the City Centre, and there was a sense of Dublin being a ghost town, there wasn’t the usual hustle and bustle, no tourists. People were socially distancing, unlike my perception of what I had seen on the news.
Fear and anxiety for many are not new emotions, they have been present for a long time, due to a painful time in our lives. Before COVID19, the business of life and distraction has slowed down. Those emotions that we try to distract ourselves with are present every day. Some days we are more relaxed, but each day it has been getting harder and harder. After Drumcree, the fear that didn’t disappear but developed and engulfed some individuals, accessing Mental Health Support, changed their life. The fear overwhelmed them because, for the majority of their life, they had suffered unknowingly from anxiety. Drumcree was the straw that broke the camels’ back. There were no distractions.
Counselling is a form of Mental Health Support. How does counselling help? Counselling gives you the space to be listened to, to understand what is happening. To learn how to understand your emotions, challenge your thoughts and change your behaviour. Friends are a source of support, sometimes you might sensor what you say to a friend. We provide that safe space to gently accept you.
If you are fearful about attending therapy physical. Online therapy is an option. Online Counselling requires a good internet connection and a safe space where you will not be disturbed for an hour. You may think that I couldn’t look at my face for an hour, you do not have to. Therapyhub.ie allows you to switch on or off your camera, mute your voice and during the session, the only face you will see is the counsellor. You will know the hour is ending when you can see your own face.
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