Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

If Things are “Getting Back to Normal,” Why are People so Stressed?

Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels

Over this past year, the very things we have collectively yearned for such as hugging family members outside our pod, eating dinner with friends or even just going to the grocery store without a hazmat suit are now reality.

We’ve all been so excited for this moment; this return to “normal” life. And yet why, if we are actually getting to live the reality we’ve been dreaming of, are so many of us still so anxious?

Obviously, there are many things in the mix. But one of the driving issues is that people have the expectation that a return to external normalcy will make everything internal suddenly shift to rainbows and unicorns; that it should be like a switch going off that makes you say: “Oh, I can sit inside of Starbucks, so I’m good.”

This is not accurate or helpful.

Sure, getting back to normal is wonderful, but as the saying goes, “wherever you go, there you are.” Outside opportunities may mask (no pun intended), but they don’t erase, interpersonal struggles.

This is not to say that the joy of getting on that airplane for the first time in forever or meeting up with a friend for a sans-mask brunch won’t help. But rather, the message to take in is that we have all been through a very traumatic time. It’s important to give yourself some grace. If the things you’ve been dreaming of doing don’t make you feel instantly whole, that’s is actually what’s normal.

Particularly after what we’ve collectively been through, people will need to work through the things that challenge them the old fashioned way. Whether that means therapy, working with a life coach such as myself, returning to your faith, or doing any other healing work that works for you; that is where we all will find the peace we seek in our post pandemic lives.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Betsy Rosenfeld Vargas
Betsy Rosenfeld Vargashttps://www.withbetsy.com
Betsy Rosenfeld Vargas is a certified Fearless Living Life Coach. Raised in Los Angeles, she attended Marlborough School and was the President of Cuisine à Roulettes at St. Vincent Meals on Wheels. She holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA from USC.

Related Articles

2 COMMENTS

  1. Hi
    I appreciate the message of this post
    I think a verb is missing from this sentence:
    Particularly after what we’ve collectively been through, people DON’T WANT? STILL WANT? to do things the old fashion way.
    Many thanks!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Calendar

Latest Articles

.printfriendly { padding: 0 0 60px 50px; }