During the Covid-19 situation, we keep hearing the word ‘unprecedented’, these are ‘unprecedented times’, these are ‘unprecedented situations’ but what does that actually mean and why might we be experiencing ‘unprecedented’ emotions? Proud co-leaders of the Resilience Revolution Jesse, Danielle and Jemma discuss what this means and how the Resilient Move, ‘There is existing help and solutions for problems, use them’ has never been more fitting than in a time like this.
Put simply, ‘unprecedented’ means unknown, something which has never been experienced before – so whilst there have been pandemics, the scale or the virus has never been experienced before by people in this lifetime.
Danielle says, ‘It’s totally fine to not feel ok in these times. Nobody was prepared for this pandemic. Therefore, this has led to many stresses, money problems, young people rightly worrying about their futures and EVERYONE worried and missing their family and friends. Many people including young and older generations are panicking about the unknown. This can lead to people starting to feel unhappy or not their usual selves. But no matter how they may feel, always remember there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Mental health is not a joke and everyone has mental health, some days this might be really positive and other days it might not be. Just remember not everything stays the same forever. Make sure you keep talking, you are important, you are strong and we will pull through this!”
Jesse affirms, “Stop being so hard on yourself, it’s a global pandemic! It’s completely understandable to feel not okay in these times. Millions of other people will feel this way too, so don’t feel like you are the only one going through a hard time. Don’t beat yourself up for being a human. Your feelings are VALID. Even if we weren’t in a pandemic, your feelings are STILL VALID. Even if you think you have nothing to be upset about, your feelings are STILL VALID. The point I’m trying to make is, that it’s not ‘stupid’ or ‘pathetic’ to be upset, angry, overwhelmed, or a mixture of feelings in these times. We WILL get through this, regardless of how bad it may feel now.”
Remember there are people out there trained to help in these situations, if you’re finding this situation particularly difficult, talk to somebody. It doesn’t need to be somebody who you are quarantined with, there are fabulous support systems out there for us to use, such as: @childline, @youngminds, @Samaritanscharity, @mindcharity, @timetochangecampaign, @andysmansclubuk, @thebigwhitewall and apps such as ThinkNinja, and these aren’t even all of them!
“We thought this image showed nicely what talking can do, it helps to organise your thoughts when your head can sometimes feel ‘messy’. Other people can sometimes help to organise our thoughts, feelings and actions, so if you need help, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for it.”