2021: Reflecting On Our Mental Health

Dec 31

2021 has been a challenging year, we are with you! Following 2020, the world had high hopes for 2021, that we would emerge strong from the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and that life would return to some semblance of normal. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the last of the virus, and many of us are learning to live with many of life’s other difficulties.

With that in mind, the team at Danielle Counselling thought it would be helpful to create the space for you to pause and reflect on how the challenges of 2021 have impacted you personally, while also highlighting the silver linings of this year and how to move ahead. By exploring and openly discussing problems, we can learn not only how to cope with them but also learn more about ourselves and what is important to us. Let’s start with the biggest challenges we’ve faced this year and then take a moment for positive reflection!

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2021’s Biggest Mental Health Challenges

Key Statistics

One thing we can all agree on is that 2020 and 2021 have forced us into situations that have prioritized public health while largely ignoring our collective mental health. With a sole focus in the media and public policy on the “covid numbers” there has been a serious lack of consideration for mental health.

● Studies indicate that respondents to a 2019 mental health survey resulted in 10% of adults living with an anxiety or depressive disorder, with that number rising to 40% in January of 2021.

● According to Statistics Canada - Among the age group 25 to 44, the proportion screening positive for major depressive disorder increased from 18% in fall 2020 to 23% in spring 2021 and the proportion screening positive for generalized anxiety disorder increased from 15% to 20%.

○ Among Canadians who screened positive for at least one disorder (depression, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress disorder), 94% reported being negatively impacted by the pandemic

● Canadian Mental Health Association - more than half Ontarians (57%) are lonelier since the start of the pandemic, almost half (47%) wish they had someone to talk to, and more than a third (36%) say they are often, very often or almost always lonely.

Take A Moment for Positive Reflection

As we often explore in counselling, life is marked by dichotomy. While there has been great hardship this past year, there has also been joy, meaningful moments, experiences of love. We have just primed you with troubling statistics, so it may be a challenge to bring these positive memories to mind. Take a moment. Review your past 12 months, what happened? What was good? Your mind may try to remind you about what tainted that good moment. Challenge yourself to do the same for the hard times – what may have been a redeeming factor about the troubling memories? Let’s give opportunity to balance out the dichotomy of your life.

At the very least, 2021 has been an excellent reminder, offering us perspective into what is most important in life! We wanted to provide a few examples to get you thinking…

Togetherness - 2021 reset many of our priorities, emphasizing the value of friendship, family, and togetherness. Maybe you helped family or friends in their time of need? Maybe they reached out to you to offer support in hard times? Maybe you felt connected to a stranger through a conversation, a binding together in such a hard time of our lives. Maybe you have a new understanding and/or desire for a sense of community.

Acknowledge and value the support that you have, and/or that you have given
Consider how you may further foster connections in your life in the new year. This is our main source of resiliency: togetherness.

Uncertainty – You just lived through another unprecedented year of significant uncertainty! You are here.

Let’s acknowledge where we mastered a challenge as well as the moments that felt like we just barely got through
Let’s give compassion to ourselves for those uncomfortable moments, the ones where the “best” we gave at that time may not be our best now
Take these reflections from 2021 and consider your ideal way of tackling the uncertainties that lay ahead of us in 2022

Self-Care – We have had a massive mindset shift from our western world pre-covid, where we would “tough it out” and go to work despite how we were feeling. The last couple of years, we have learned that self-care is not an indulgence but rather a necessity. If you are sick, stay home. It is as much for you as for everyone else! Yet this principle that is related to spreading a virus also applies to our mental health. Taking care of ourselves allows us to take care of others. When I fill my cup, it is only then that I can pour out to others.

Reflect on a time that you did something for you, how did you treat others that day?
Take inventory over this past year, what filled your cup? Also, what drained your cup?
Brainstorm ideas of what may give you a sense of fulfillment, of rest, of joy.
Consider what self-care actions you may continue/add to your life this next year.
Consider if there are any activities/situations that may be beneficial to leave behind in 2021.

Two Powerful Tools For A Better 2022

The start of a new year can be more than just a symbolic change. A new year can be a starting point, with new goals, new behaviours, and new priorities. Here are two practices that can strengthen you as you move forward in 2022!

Practice GRATITUDE

A roof over our heads, clean drinking water, and a comfortable bed makes us more fortunate than half of the world. There are opportunities for gratitude in almost every situation we encounter. Choosing to be grateful changes our perspective and response to even the most difficult situations and most challenging people in our lives! Give it a try…

Take time to reflect on what you are most grateful for over this past year…

Now, take a moment to consider one of the most difficult situations you have faced and then try to think about something that you are grateful for within that situation…

For example, for many people isolation has been one of the most difficult aspects of the pandemic. Yet many have expressed gratitude for the extended time with family and the opportunity to adjust their work/life balance. This has been a growing trend throughout the pandemic, coined as “The Great Resignation” - BBC Article.

Practice MINDFULNESS

Anxiety is fear or uncertainty of the future, and depression often burdens minds that are stuck in the past. Being mindful is about living in the moment you are in, dealing with what is in your control at this moment, and accepting what is not.

Being present in the moment not only helps us manage challenging emotions but also allows us to be fully engaged in the present moment, enhancing positive emotions. Fostering opportunities for happiness is so important, as it provides us with a sense of being fully alive and bringing a balance of enjoyment to a troubled time. Let’s give this a try too, let’s transition from a state of doing to a state of being…

Start by STOPPING! Pause.

Now take a breath Notice the breath Just sit and breathe for a moment

Observe the physical sensations of your breath

Appreciate this experience of inhaling life, for the moment of calm

Click here for some Guided Mindfulness Exercises to manage or enhance emotions!

WHAT’S NEXT?

Taking these tools of reflection, gratitude, and mindfulness can help us face the uncertainties that lay ahead in 2022. Let’s take this year on together, with compassion for one another and ourselves, knowing that we are all likely going to stumble and make mistakes, but also choosing to see that we each are doing our best!

With a heart full of gratitude for each of you,

Danielle Jeffery

Professional Counselling Services Available in Oshawa, Ontario

If you are ready to take the first step towards protecting and improving your mental health, reach out to the team at Danielle counselling! During a free initial consultation, we can get to know each other, begin building a relationship and highlight the aspects of life that are weighing on your mind. Once we have a sense of direction, we create a therapy plan that is uniquely designed to help you.

For more information, call our office or schedule an appointment online today!