Happy 2022: Wait, Have We Been Here Before??
Dear friends,
The start of the New Year is a season of great expectation. Winter has always been a time to retreat, turn inward, and prepare for a rebirth in the spring. New Year celebrations often serve as a placeholder for our hopes and fears. We have many traditions around scaring out the evils of old year and ushering in luck, money, health, and other high hopes into our new year. It is a cultural moment focused on leaving the past behind and gazing ahead at a bright future.
This year, we welcome in the new year on the heels of a long pandemic and at the start of the Omicron surge. As much as we hate having to talk about COVID (again!), it is impossible to ignore the arrival of this new variant that turned so much of our holiday celebrations upside down. Where we hoped to be launching into a modern roaring twenties, we are instead continuing to evaluate how best to care for ourselves and our loved ones in uncertain times.
We are seeing firsthand how seismically omicron is reverberating through our lives. As a country, we experienced a collective trauma during the first lockdown. When there is a traumatic event, our brains work tirelessly to try to make sense of their environment so they can protect us from future harm. During early 2020, trauma was everywhere with people suddenly cut off from their support systems and concerned for the health of them and their families.
With Omicron, our brains are picking up on patterns—rising case numbers, canceled gatherings, health concerns, and political tensions. These patterns trigger our brain’s defenses and bring all that trauma rising back to the surface.
When new experiences remind our brains of old trauma, the brain responds by telling our bodies to react as if we are experiencing this old threat. As we prepare for the imminent danger it imagines, we are thrust right back into the experience and emotions of the old trauma. We might feel overwhelmed or frozen. We might see old memories rising up to the surface and our fight or flight response activated.
With Omicron triggering the traumas of lockdown, you may find yourself re-experiencing the emotions you felt in the early lockdown. Those memories and fears might be closer to the surface even as we all want to be focused on a post-pandemic future. If you have other trauma history (particularly if you experienced other traumas during the pandemic), you may find those experiences closer to the surface as well.
If you are finding yourself triggered by the current surge, here are a few strategies:
Remember your progress. When our brains are triggered, they make it feel as if our current situation is the same as our past. We might be misled to think that after two years of sacrificing we are in the exact same place, but that is untrue. We can remind ourselves of all the progress we have made and all the ways that our current situation is different from our last. With regards to omicron, we have better medical options and more knowledge now than ever before. We know more about transmission and how to safely keep things open. Things are different now than they were in 2020.
Have some self-compassion. Our well-meaning brains are doing their best to protect us from harm—just a little over-zealous. There is nothing wrong with you for feeling triggered or needing extra support right now. It can be tempting to beat ourselves up for not handling a situation as we intended, but instead we should choose to be compassionate to that part of ourselves. We can take a moment to recognize that our brain is working hard to keep us protected, thank it for the alert, and remember that it’s not necessary right now. Sometimes just recognizing and acknowledging that response can help us to calm.
Focus on our present: During the start of the new year, we can easily be pulled into thinking and worrying about the future, but that does little to calm our nervous systems. When we feel pulled to abstract worry or fear, it can help to focus in on the present and check in with where we are right now. Calm your breath and take a moment to focus on where you are right now.
Plan for your needs. When things feel dark, it is important to focus on the places where we can make our own light. Identify the things you need to feel full. Find the people who fill your life with light and make time to connect with them. Focus on the interactions that bring you peace and joy and make those your focus.
Set good resolutions While it is customary to make new year's resolutions, too often the resolutions can become expectations that burden rather than uplifting us. Instead of setting unrealistic or nonspecific goals, make a list of things that bring you joy (a nice soak in the tub, offering a compliment to a friend, sending a letter, doing a five-minute meditation, taking a short nap, or whatever else you can think of) and resolve to do something off that list.
Process the unprocessed. If you are finding yourself dealing with echoes of your past trauma, come in to talk with us. We are here to help.
I personally am holding onto this sentiment from Adam Grant who says: "Informed optimism doesn't mean you only look on the bright side. It means you don't overlook the bright side. If you don't see possibility you can't solve problems. If you don't imagine a best case, you don't make things better. The greatest antidote to fear is grounded hope."
As you enter into this new year, we wish you a year of connection, compassion and whatever grounded hope you can cobble together. We are here to support you. If you are looking to connect with other people who are going through similar life experiences—check out our groups and classes below. As a community we quite carefully and very intentionally stick together to keep a warm center functioning no matter what is happening.
Warmly,
Kellie Wicklund, LPC, PMH-C
Owner + Clinical Director
Christina Moran
Executive Director
