This week the Province V campus ministers gathered for their annual meeting, virtually of course. Of all the groups I belong to, they are the most fun. We laugh and celebrate and they have incredibly wonderful and innovative ideas. This year, however, it was a more subdued gathering. We were all tired, anxious, and overwhelmed. Between Covid and the elections, everyone was rough around the edges.
So we talked about it. Our speaker was a priest and mental health professional. She outlined for us the physical toll that the stress we are all under has on us. Not just priests, all of us. She reminded us that the stress we experience is carried in our bodies. And if we aren’t intentional about letting it go, it stays with us, eating away at our mental and physical health.
As the Covid season stretches on endlessly, and new decisions about how to stay safe and function in the world have to be made every day, it is important to remember that you aren’t crazy, you aren’t lazy, you aren’t unusual. You, all of us, have been under an enormous amount of hyper-anxiety that only seems to be getting worse. One woman said how she has broken two teeth in the last 8 months, and her dentist said he sees 3-4 broken teeth per day from clenching and grinding. The effects are real.
And do you know the best news of all? The easiest and most effective way to get rid of the effects of stress is to drink water!! A lot of water, but still. How easy is that? Breathing exercises, making one small decision at a time, and distracting yourself are also helpful. There are healthy ways to cope. We have to practice them, incorporate them into our lives.
Another important thing to remember is that we are all struggling here, so we need to hold things lightly. Be kind, be flexible, be understanding. The stress of the upcoming election has brought out the worst in so many of us. Be careful and cut everyone some slack. Life is hard for everyone.
Be aware of the toll this time takes on all of us, take good care of yourself and stay calm. This is turning into an ultra-marathon, and we all want to make it through alive. We can’t do it alone though. Treat everyone (and yourself) as though they are precious.