Sometimes Life Sucks

What's happening?

Some of my friends are in trouble. They are in deep pain. They feel helpless and hopeless. They feel broken. 

Me too.

Two plus years of a pandemic has left many people with *Lifestyle Fatigue* according to Sean Grover a psychologist for writes for Psychology Today.  It relates to feeling off, feeling down and feeling tired. The pandemic sadness has left us emotionally exhausted as we struggle to muster up the motivation to do the things that seemed ordinary, even exciting,  just a few years ago.

Everyone is going through a lot. People near and dear are getting divorced, getting sick, dying. Others are experiencing job loss, business failure, burnout and financial stressors. Most distressing is that some have simply lost their spirit. 

Of course good things are happening too. I'm definitely not a doom and gloom girl, however, I am saying that it's normal to feel this way after all we have been through. We are starting to heal and come back to ourselves but it doesn't happen overnight.

These past few months have brought unexpected and unwelcome events that have taken their toll on me. Among other things I had a nasty bout with COVID that left me spent. The most significant happening was that my 91-year-old mother had a fall, fractured her back in 2 places, fractured her foot and broke a toe which left her bedridden in hospital for months. The road to recovery will be long but thankfully she is on the mend and will be discharged today. 

I got a message from a friend yesterday who said "It has been quite an ordeal these past 3 years. I'm exhausted just from the many changes, uncertainties, social and political turmoil while trying to succeed with my business. Then when three friends died this year it was quite a blow."

Sometimes life sucks.

I know that when I'm going through some tough stuff it's good for me to acknowledge that life is hard right now. Social media isn't the answer.  When I'm having a hard day those cheery memes and Instagram worthy reels don't offer the assurance I need that everything will be okay again. It's not real life.

Mindset matters. 

My real friends matter.

If I get up, dress up, show up and never give up (even when it scares me) I feel stronger.

I have learned that self-care in the form of doing something I enjoy, by myself, for myself, for a few hours a week helps my mental health.

Sometimes I reflect on what life is teaching me. Other times I just say *chic* and have a good heart-to-heart with a girlfriend.

Then one day, sometime in the future we'll reminisce and say "But we lived through it and it made us who we are today." And we'll brag about where we got our latest deeply discounted deal (maybe even in the same sentence).

 Copyright 2022: Helene Oseen