“I can’t wait for 2020 to be over.”
“Bring on 2021.”
Chances are you’ve heard a friend or family member say that, or perhaps it was a conversation overheard on the bus … maybe you’ve even said it yourself.
But with COVID still possibly out in the community, continuing to be handled in hotel quarantine, and a vaccine yet to be rolled out, is 2021 really going to be that different? And is this mindset just setting ourselves up for failure?
According to Anastasia Panayiotidis, general manager of clinical services at Relationships Australia Victoria, this mindset is a result of long held societal beliefs.
“We’re programmed to think of time in calendar years and I think because we’re programmed that way and we’ve got rituals such as making new year's resolutions, celebrating the beginning of new year, saying goodbye to the old year … people almost set their dreams and their goals by the year.”
While people’s lives used to be ruled by the seasons, Panayiotidis said the calendar year is now what defines our lives, “it’s part of our ethos, part of our culture.”
“We’re also programmed that we want to move forward and we want things to be better.”
We all still need to have our goals and our aspirations but there are going to be certain things that are out of our control.
Panayiotidis said 2021 is still full of uncertainty and may not live up to the expectations of those people keen to see the back of 2020.
“The problem with that thinking is it can be a little black and white, we actually don’t have any control over the future and what’s going to happen,” she explained.
“We need to actually be in the now, we need to be present in the moment now, we need to be living our life right now.
“Rather than waiting for next year to unfold, live today, the sun is shining now.”
Panayiotidis explained that when looking to the year ahead, it’s essential to keep a balance. While it’s important to have hope that things will improve, she said people need to be realistic in that dealing with this virus is going to take time.
“We all still need to have our goals and our aspirations but there are going to be certain things that are out of our control.”
“In order to have a very healthy mindset for 2021, or for dealing with a crisis such as this, we need to figure out what is in our control and what isn’t in our control and we need to actually take control of the things that we can manage in our lives.”
These are her top tips to stay mentally strong as we get ready to enter the new year.
TIPS
Self-care - Panayiotidis said we need to continue to focus on our health in these challenging times, “we need to engage in our self care taking, making sure we get enough sleep, eat nutritious food, that we stay active,” she said, adding, “a strong, healthy body keeps the mind healthy as well.”
Be connected to others - Where we can, we need to stay connected to others, whether it be neighbours, family or friends. “Isolation is actually not good for our mental health, we do actually need some contact with other human beings.”
Learn from our traditional owners - “We’ve got a lot to learn from the traditional owners of the land who continue to teach us that we have to return to country to heal and we need to acknowledge the fundamental spiritually of our land, of our country.” Panayiotidis suggested getting outside in nature and appreciating the healing powers that our land has.
Build resilience - “Our life has become a lot more simple, we can’t plan holidays, we can’t travel, we can’t hop on a plane and go on an international trip so one thing we have to do is develop our resilience, enrich our inner life.” Panayiotidis suggested developing a new hobby, a craft, or a skill. From gardening to reading, Panayiotidis said we need to find a way to “keep the mind stimulated.”
Have a project - Whether it be as a family, a couple or a single person, Panayiotidis suggested having an ongoing, longer term project to work on, and work towards, as a way of keeping us mentally strong. Panayiotidis explained it could be anything from working towards that goal of running a marathon, developing a vegetable or herb garden, completing a project on your house etc.
