People Are Hurting

The hurting is both mental and emotional. Yes, this could also be coupled with physical problems that either spawned from this emotional piece, have built from the stress and challenges faced daily, or there was something that could not get taken care of during the time when hospitals were full. I would like to talk about the different perspectives that we should consider.
When talking about youth perspectives, they went through a time completely different from anything in the past. Adults did not know how to help them through it because none had experienced it. The reactions seen in adults were so extreme that young people did not know what side to choose, who was presenting good information, what their options were for getting help, or what life would be like if they even made it through.
When talking about adult perspectives there are multiple to consider. The first is how people were disrupted in their lives, and like the youth are trying to redefine what normal should be. I would be one of these and I have shared that once I went to paperless instruction during the remote learning period, I have not gone back, even with the students in the classroom now. I tripped over my own feet daily while wearing dress shoes again, and we use now video for some meetings and teacher development which had not been there before. It took a while to build back the stamina for being in a classroom with student energy for 6 hours a day. Far more difficult is for those that the disruption meant losing or changing jobs, losing their savings or going into further debt, or losing loved ones without even being there for them.
A second adult perspective is seen in the people that never got a break from their routine of working, and instead the hours became longer and more intense. Hospital workers dealt with more exposure and more pressure, along with first responders, delivery personnel, and people in service jobs. Their exhaustion continued and their numbers declined. The once championed medical serving community is now feeling wrath from people who are struggling physically. We know there are long term effects from this virus so there will be no break in action for this dedicated group. People trying to figure out new ways to operate with a shortage of supplies and workers.
Other perspectives are from people who battled the virus personally or with family, some in a victorious result. The health challenge that they faced and overcame changed everything in how they look at life. The cold fact is how many people were lost during this pandemic and the toll that took upon their families and friends. There are many who did not believe in the severity of the spread and are trying to comprehend why everything is different. Others feel they are fighting against the vaccine and the government to show the importance of not just following along. Many elderly people still feel the need to stay away from crowds of people, travel continues to be a more challenging than ever, and political decisions are ever so difficult to make. All of these perspectives merge when we can openly discuss the idea that we need to try to get through this together, because we believe in and are for the people.

Anxiety

It is important that we are now discussing anxiety more than ever before. Like a number of topics, this one was to be kept private because it was their problem alone. People felt anxiety, we all knew this. We were expected to tough it out alone to get through or get right, before we could rejoin the main stream or until the suffering could no longer be endured. More celebrities have been discussing this in the open and the Olympic athletes have led the way.
I have seen people deal with the anxiety such as the experience that Olympic gymnast Simone Biles has shared, and I personally know what she meant when stating she had the “twisties”.
“Twisties” is an example of an anxiety or fear with a specific stimulus. Mine took place when I was trying to put a full twisting back flip into my gymnastics floor routine, which by the way would have helped me qualify for the state competition. After much practice on the crash pads, the coach asked me for a final run through my routine without the extra safety mats. When I went up for the trick, I froze in the air. This was over 40 years ago for me and I just got the chills typing that. After pancaking flat on my back and getting the wind knocked out of me, I was unable to attempt another twist, even onto the thick mats. This is how a fear can limit our actions, and it applies to any other anxiety brought on by a trigger event.
Rather than remove and rejoin, the overall goal in helping people who are struggling with anxiety is to provide assistance and care through ways to manage it while moving forward. Because of the amount of people I have seen experience anxiety in just the last couple of years, it appears most important that they have the support of family and friends throughout the process. The amount of compassion for others is being seen on a larger scale as each of us cares more intentionally, and more deeply for the people in our lives.
I am not claiming to have answers here, and certainly no expertise. By sharing an experience, I can bring up the value in thinking about perspectives and the fact that we need to continue to live for not just ourselves, but for others. May we learn as we share more from the depth of our thinking and our emotions in order to have the hope and strength to go forward, because we believe in and are for the people.

In the picture above, I have asked you a question. Are you on top of the wall or are you on the bottom of the wall?
I hope you give it some thought before reading this description, because there is something there that you may not have realized. Most people will look at say they see the people on the bottom of the wall trying to get to the top, so they are the attackers here. That makes the people on the top of the wall the defenders. The attackers are aggressors trying to get something that is not theirs, while the defenders are trying to hold on to what is theirs.
Look again at the figures on the top of the wall, as they are not the defenders of this castle. They are part of the same group as those below, having advanced to go up to the top of the wall. They are now looking inside.

The figures on the outside are still hearing the sounds of battle, and feeling the fear of whether or not they should try to ascend the ladder or siege tower to go inside. They feel the fear and the anxiety of taking this next step not knowing what will be there or whether they will make it. What will they find if they go up to the top? Will they make all of that effort and never reach the prize? They do not know how much longer this will go on and could be paralyzed by the thought of how dangerous it will be.
The figures on the top are examining the same situation from a different perspective. They see inside and know the castle is now being overrun. They are ready to hurry forward as the spoils are theirs for the taking. There is joy of having nearly reached the end of what was a long difficult road, and anticipation of celebrating together this victory.