We all feel the weight from the past few months.

Depression

Anxiety

Worry

Fear

Most of us have had to endure at least one of these feelings, with no clear end to it.

2020 has been a year of darkness for many of us, especially parents. Trying to protect and raise children in this climate is probably the most challenging thing we as parents have encountered.

We worry enough on regular days. Add a global pandemic and it is magnified by x1000. We have sadness for what has been lost and fear of what is to come. How do we raise our children to be happy in this dark world? How do we be honest with them without frightening them?

This is all so heavy. 

So how do we lighten the load?

unnamed 4Where do we find the outlet from the darkness?

Find some sunshine. Literally. Go outside and just feel the sunshine. Start with just that action. Then you can build off of it to find another outlet. Maybe it is a great cup of coffee or a good laugh with a friend. Could be taking that run you have been putting off. Or something larger like taking that first step to finding a therapist. Just start somewhere and what’s easier than starting with sunshine?

I know you have heard this before and it is easier said than done. I have been there too. I have been there often. But there is one thing I have learned from being in the darkness more than once, is that there is always light to be found.

It takes persistence.

It takes a lot of energy and work to pull yourself out of a dark time, especially as heavy as where we are today. I won’t lie, it’s easier to sit with your darkness than work for the way out. But the longer you sit with it, the more it consumes you, and the more difficult it is to find your way out.

Right now, it isn’t about finding your way out and rising above. It’s about knowing the way out and holding on. Knowing that if you just hold on to some positivity, that you will find your way out. Even within dark, difficult times you can find positive things. Hold on to those. Cling to them with all you have.

Here are some of my “go to” positive outlets

  • Going outside. Rain or shine go outside. Feel the grass, the breeze, the sun. It has a way of making you feel a bit more hopeful.
  • Run. Literally. I will go for a run and its symbolic in the sense I am “running from my problems”. However, upon my return – I feel although the problems may still be there – they are easier to face with clarity in that “runaway” moment of freedom.
  • Hot beverage. Coffee, tea, hot cocoa, really anything warm that is sipped slowly can almost melt away my stress. 
  • Make plans with a friend. Something as small has a phone conversation or a cup of coffee can change your mood from negative to positive in just a few minutes. Just being able to talk, laugh or even relate to another person can shed some light on dark times.

So I will leave you with this.  You are not alone no matter how dark the world may seem.  Perhaps this may resonate with you as you challenge your health in progress and continue to tweak the ways you cope along the way.

Just trust that somewhere, there is light.