A lot of people have really been suffering lately. COVID-19 has taken a big toll on our society, but it’s not just the virus that is hurting us as a people. Racial unrest, economic stress, and family issues are hurting many of us right now.
The pandemic has stretched us all a little thin. This has naturally had an impact on the people around us, too. If you’ve paid attention to celebrity news at al during the last few months, you may have noticed that the divorce rate seems to be a little higher than usual. That’s not to say that COVID caused relationship problems. Rather, being enclosed with people for longer periods of time than you are used to has revealed to a lot of people that they do have relationship issues that had never been addressed before. Some have been able to talk through the problems and emerge as stronger on the other side. But not everyone.
Some people are continuing to really struggle. It’s the people that are isolated, the people that have seen major disruptions to their lives, and the people that are not able to “roll with the changes” as some of us can that are having the most difficulty. In fact, the World Health Organization and other watchdog groups continue to warn that the mental health crisis that the pandemic has caused might be worse than the coronavirus pandemic itself.
This remains to be seen, of course. We still haven’t felt the full effect of either of these things. However, this doesn’t mean that we need to wait to start taking action. There are little things that you can do to help the people in your life, regardless of how near or far away from you they might be. Reach out to your loved ones, let them know that you care about them. Let them know you love them. Listen to them, learn what they’re struggling with. This might mean that you need to change how you usually interact with the people around you. But no one is going to be worse off because you were more patient, more loving, and more understanding of what they were going through. Even people that seem perfectly fine might be struggling with the fallout of the coronavirus. It’s okay to be the person that people feel safe enough around to talk about these kinds of things with.
And please, if you are struggling right now, don’t be afraid to talk about it. Your family loves you. If you’re not 100 percent comfortable with these kinds of conversations, talking with a professional can be helpful. Get in touch with a doctor to get pointed in the right direction.
The virus has changed how we live, but that doesn’t mean that we need to just bear it on our shoulders. Improving your relationships with the people that you do life with can make this a time of rest and strengthening, rather than a wholly unpleasant experience that we are all just trying to survive.
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