The pandemic has reinforced just how much the world is divided, economically, socially and politically. Where there were cracks there are now chasms.

The 'Daily Impact' of the pandemic

The impact on our daily lives in the pandemic is showing us a different way to think. It has highlighted that through self-care there are things we can do, to change how we see and do things for the better, both personally and collectively.

Self-care in Covid

It is important to take time for yourself, to concentrate on your mental and emotional wellbeing. Using setbacks as stepping-stones can help you move forward mentally. I rely on my spiritual beliefs. The more spiritual you are, the more you understand your life, the more you can understand others, and the easier it is to move forward with mental, emotional clarity and resolve.

Where other people’s motives may be the reason for our setbacks, it is important to understand their motives, so you are able to change your own thinking.

Continue to work on your emotional and spiritual health

In the pandemic, even though our lives are not ‘normal’ and we may never return to the normal that we once knew, it is important to continue to work on your emotional health.

We should continue to look after ourselves and each other.

Ilana Estelle is a mental health and wellbeing advocate who combines educational insight with her personal experience of living with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. She holds diplomas in Counselling, Diet and Nutrition, Nutritional Therapy, Psychotherapy and Counselling, and Stress Management. Through her writing, Ilana supports others in navigating their emotional, mental, and physical health challenges. In addition to writing for The CP Diary, her work has appeared in healthy lifestyle magazines. Ilana is also the author of three books: Cerebral Palsy: A Story – Finding the Calm After the Storm, Spirituality, Healing and Me, and Survival: The Covid Years – Time for Change.

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2 comments on “Using setbacks as stepping stones”

  1. All of our daily lives have been turned upside down by the pandemic and it has been very difficult for people to find a firm footing on this new path.

    Also the terrible events this week in the US, have reinforced what we have known all along and just how deeply divided and divisive our society is.

    As soon as we start to feel a bit more steady in our new normal, something changes and the uncertainty and challenges are back to knock us over.

    We will all have to dig deep to manage our mental health in 2021 and for me this website is a great starting place.

    1. Thank you!! I absolutely agree with you, yes our lives have been turned upside down by the pandemic and the majority of us are settling into our lives, and are towing the party line. We need more people to do that.

      What happened in the US has shown just how fragile we all are. There is no place for us inciting hate, least of all a President. It is important in 2021 that we all come together. It isn't just the pandemic we're living through.

      We also have global warming to think about and deal with. I think it important we take this time to sort our mental and emotional health out, think about our lives and use these setbacks as stepping stones, so that we can feel more comfortable with our lives.

      Feeling comfortable I reckon is a good place to start.

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