Have you noticed a heightened sense of anxiety in the world? Maybe at work or school? Home and family? Are you feeling more overwhelmed than usual? You’re not alone. Many people are and it has a lot to do with something most people don’t like – change.
Over the course of the last few years and throughout the pandemic, our world, communities, jobs, schools, and lives went through a lot of change (and it’s not over). Whether it’s change in how we interact with others, how we get materials for work (when they will or won’t come in), how we locate groceries for home (how many stores do we have to go to for what we need?), how we handle medical concerns (can’t we just be “normal” sick without testing for COVID?) – we are still dealing with change. There’s a term for what we are experiencing – change fatigue.
Change fatigue refers to how persistent and ongoing change wears on our minds, bodies, and souls. Roughly 60% of Americans have a low tolerance for change, and even the remaining 40%, though more resilient, can still struggle with constant change lasting for a year or more. We all have our breaking point and most are well past it. Let’s be honest, we’ve probably all had at least one angry scream or ugly cry over the pandemic. With change still on the horizon, how can we navigate it all without losing our minds? Here are a few small practices that can make a big difference.
Practice 1: Establish Small Routines
In a world of chaos, structure brings peace. Having a series of small and easy-to-follow routines can really help in navigating change. These routines can be daily or weekly. In our family we do coffee and hot cocoa every morning while we watch baking shows before school and weekly pizza and movie night. The point is to keep them simple, easy to implement, and easy to maintain.
Practice 2: Organize A Part Of The World You Can Control
This goes hand-in-hand with routines, but functions a little differently. We can’t control everything, but we can control some things. I have a close friend who has the most orderly fridge and sometimes her family receives strong reminders about where the ketchup should and should not go. While some might consider that extreme, it makes a lot of sense. There is a connection between our physical spaces around us and the emotional spaces within us. Consider picking a room, area, or space that can be easily organized and maintained. Word of caution – be careful of being overly ambitious with large spaces, cluttered basements that you know will be difficult to keep up on, and garages in winter. If you pick a space that is too difficult to maintain, it can actually lead to more stress and frustration.
Practice 3: Give Yourself Permission To Say, “No!”
Let’s face it, our world is hurried and full. During the onset of COVID everything stopped for a brief moment, and despite all the inconvenience, many remarked at the beauty of a slower pace. That’s done now and the world has sped up again (and, I dare say, intensified). Oftentimes we struggle saying “no” to the good things that take away from the best. While many of us struggle to say no to sports, parties, play dates, extra work, and other activities, it is essential for our overall health and well-being. Giving ourselves permission to say no to things, even good things, can be really good for us.
Practice 4: Sit In Stillness And Silence
Have you ever finished a meeting, class, conversation, or experience and immediately looked to your phone for an email, text, or social scroll? Odds are you have, and multiple times throughout the day. As the digital age sets in, we’re losing the importance of stillness and silence. Believe it or not, our brains actually need “breaks” between work periods to function properly. And our souls do too. Taking 5 minutes of silence and stillness (WITHOUT A SCREEN) between meetings, conversations, and activities can decrease anxiety and improve recall, productivity, and creativity.
Practice 5: Say It Out Loud
When we are overwhelmed, we do ourselves a disservice by bottling it up and keeping it to ourselves. Taking a few minutes everyday to say to ourselves and others (OUT LOUD) that we are struggling can be extremely healing and helpful. Find a friend, coach, teacher, counselor, pastor, or spiritual advisor to talk with. Then, make a habit of calling, texting, writing, or meeting on a regular basis to share and say out loud what is difficult and hard.
Practice 6: Feed your Soul
The Old and New Testament scriptures consistently and repeatedly remind us that the God of the Bible never changes and is faithfully present with us, working to bring order and peace to the chaos of our lives. Even a small amount of time dedicated to prayer and Bible reading can have a massive impact on our emotional wellness. Psychological research shows a reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression in those who read and pray in comparison with those who do not.
In all reality, things are going to keep changing and we have very little control over it all. If you find yourself struggling with all the change, remember that you are not alone and not powerless to it all. You can navigate it without losing your mind, and no matter how overwhelming it gets, you can find a way through. It won’t always be this way, but it might be this way for a while. Starting some small practices today can have a significant impact on tomorrow.
Josh Zoerhof 