Have you ever gotten off of a dizzying ride like the merry-go-round at a park, and felt the whole world spinning? The first thing you do is look for something stable hold onto until the spinning stops, right? Something to 'ground' you while your body and balance are unstable.
Well, that dizzying effect from the merry go round feels a lot like what you may be experiencing right now. There is so much uncertainty, so many things hanging in the balance, so many things outside of our control, and it likely causes you to feel very uncertain about your own decisions or emotional experiences. Should I be hopeful, or afraid? Should I wear the mask or not? Should I prepare for chaos, or rest assured that the upcoming days and weeks will be civil, with more peaceful and thoughtful leadership prevailing? It feels a lot like the dizzying effects of a childhood trip on the merry-go-round, except the childhood version is much more pleasant than our current context.
I read an article this morning online (www.theconversation.com) about just this topic, and it resonated so much that I decided to write about it here. Mexican philosophers have been talking about this dizzying phenomenon for quite some time, and they call it "zozobra", which translates into English as "anxiety". Zozobra refers to the type of anxiety many of us may be experiencing right now, the type of anxiety where there is so much going on that we have a difficult time holding onto one attitude or frame of mind. For instance, should I be hopeful, or scared?
So, what do we do? Research on zozobra says we should find something stable to hold onto right now, until the dizzying effects wear off. And they will. At some point. So, find those solid relationships in your life and cling to them right now. Hold onto the factual information that you are confident won't change-because unlike opinions or polls, facts don't change. Caveat, though... science is an ever changing system of understanding, so science evolves, our understanding about scientific phenomena changes as we gather more facts, so understand the difference here, please. Listen to facts, look for data, not surveys or polls or opinions. Hold onto those facts and that data. It can be a stabilizing force.
Hold onto the routines that can provide comfort during uncertain times. It is part of our human DNA to seek to control our environment, and when we cannot, we look for other things to control to compensate for it. We all do this, to varied degrees. So, instead of controlling other people, which is not pleasant for them, try controlling things in your own sphere. Your routine. Your sleep. Your nutrition. Your exercise. Your exposure to outside forces, like news or social media. And hold onto the support systems you have in your life. Like friends. Family. Loved ones. Connect with them in COVID-careful ways, like over Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet, WhatsApp. Across the hallway. Whatever you can do to remain in touch with the constants in your life, hold onto those until the dizziness of our current circumstances wear off. It could be days, weeks, or months before the chaos stills, so take seriously the need to find those grounding forces in your life, and prioritize their place in your life.
That is it for today. I am going to go do some grounding. Tomorrow is a big day, a zozobra sort of day, and I am going to do a little preemptive grounding to get ready for the dizziness. You can, too!
Be well, stay safe, and take care.
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