Happy New Year 2022!

Our third year in a global pandemic

Checking In, Turning the Page into 2022 by Heather Nicholson, MS, LPC

How are you feeling? The arrival of the new year is typically an invitation for reflection, taking stock, and setting intentions. However, it often happens that life rushes forward, we survive the holidays, we engage in the festivities, we wake up and clean up and the new year is upon us, seemingly with little time to check into how we feel. There is a whirlwind nature to the changing of the calendar year.

There can be a subtle pressure to experience joy through the holidays

which unfolds straight into hope and action for the new year, without much room to acknowledge other important feelings which may have been stirred in the previous weeks, months, and year. Feelings like confusion, anger, frustration, pain, dread, fatigue, and fear are also part of our emotional tapestry. And, turning the page into 2022 has brought with it the added stress and uncertainties of a third year in a global pandemic.

 Our Collective Sense of Languishing in a Pandemic

How are you feeling? The most-read New York Times article of 2021 gave voice to the collective experience of languishing. In April 2021, psychologist Adam Grant described languishing as “a sense of stagnation and emptiness,” a joylessness and aimlessness that is the middle ground of mental health between a person who is experiencing depression and a person who is thriving. We may need new, sharpened vocabulary like the word “languishing” to name our feelings as they arise in this uncharted territory that we inhabit. It is important to continually acknowledge our context – our feelings, our functioning, our struggles, our aspirations and accomplishments – all in the context of a pandemic. You may think – but, how could we possibly forget?

Covid can feel like a relentless, omnipresent hum underneath all experience. Yet, the coronavirus pandemic is a collective trauma event, and just like an individual trauma, no two people will experience it and react in exactly the same way.

COVID Hypervigilance

From the people who may feel hopeless and defeated about returning to restrictions as a result of the rise of the Omicron variant, to those who are angry and simply feel “done,” to those who are fatigued under the weight of covid hypervigilance and managing more than they can carry, to those who may feel hopeful and have found opportunities to thrive despite or because of the changes the pandemic has brought – all feelings and reactions are valid. What are yours?

 All Feelings about COVID and Pandemic Life Are Valid

As the page turns into 2022, we invite you to check in and be a compassionate witness to your own experience. Ask yourself, “How are you feeling, my dear?” (You may cringe at that “my dear” part – it is okay, speaking to ourselves with loving words can feel far from natural). There may be a part of you that would very much like some acknowledgment right now. A part of you that will grow louder trying to grab your attention until you allow yourself to see and feel that part of your experience. Maybe that part says, “I am lonely and cannot bear this physical separation from people” or, “I am still mourning.” Maybe that part says, “I feel off-kilter from interacting with my family.” Maybe that part says, “I have been working so hard towards my goals even in the midst of this pandemic, and I want you to take a moment to focus on my successes and not on what still hasn’t happened.” Try to find some time to check in with yourself, and if you can, approach yourself and the more fragile parts of your experience with curiosity and gentleness – similar to how you might instinctively approach a timid child or animal. In her book Radical Acceptance, Buddhist psychologist Tara Brach speaks about a path to healing that involves encountering our own daily experience with both clear-sightedness and love. We need to be accurately seen, and, in that seeing, to also be met with warmth and compassion. And, surely, in the midst of collective trauma, our valiant efforts to manage all of this need to be regularly seen, validated, and uplifted.

Therapy in 2022

Often it helps to be accompanied on this healing journey. Life can be overwhelming, feelings can be overwhelming, and even finding the time to attend to our emotional lives feels like a difficult task. 2022 may be a year where you feel moved to pursue therapy. This is always a courageous step. Should you feel that this is that time for you, we are ready to meet you where you are and help match you with a therapist who is a good fit for you and your goals. And we continue to prioritize making therapy safely accessible both in-person and virtually, for whichever setting is better for you while navigating these tricky times.

Happy New Year–  may we greet ourselves and each other in 2022 with kindness and courage!

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About Heather Nicholson ,MS, LPC

Heather is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and graduate of Chestnut Hill College’s Clinical and Counseling Psychology program. She has experience working in diverse counseling settings with children, adults, and families, including working as a family-based therapist, a children’s trauma therapist, and a sexual assault counselor. Prior to becoming a therapist, Heather spent several years living and working in Mexico and on the U.S./Mexico border. Her experiences working alongside immigrant communities that had been impacted by trauma and systemic injustice shaped her vocational journey and led her to pursue counseling and trauma studies.

Heather Nicholson se graduó del programa de Consejería Psicológica de Chestnut Hill College y ahora es Consejera Profesional con Licencia. Tiene experiencia trabajando en diversos entornos de consejería con niños, adultos y familias, y ha trabajado como terapeuta para niños que han experimentado trauma y para adultos que han experimentado violencia sexual. Antes de hacerse terapeuta, Heather pasó varios años viviendo y trabajando en México y en la frontera entre México y los EEUU. Su experiencia de trabajo junto a comunidades inmigrantes que han sido impactadas por el trauma y la injusticia sistémica guio su carrera y la motivó a estudiar consejería y el trauma. Heather intenta crear un espacio seguro y muy comprensivo en la terapia y cree que cada persona tiene una guía interior que se puede descubrir y fortalecer con paciencia e investigación. Ella trabaja de una manera colaborativa y enfocada en las fortalezas de cada persona y utiliza varios estilos en la práctica clínica, incluyendo la terapia psicodinámica, la terapia basada en el apego, los sistemas familiares, la conciencia plena, y los enfoques mente-cuerpo. Le apasiona trabajar con pacientes que enfrentan problemas relacionados con la inmigración y cuyas vidas han sido moldeadas por tener múltiples hogares, culturas e identidades que navegar. También le encanta trabajar con adolescentes y adultos quienes enfrentan transiciones de vida, problemas familiares, asuntos relacionales, depresión, ansiedad, estrés postraumático y fatiga por la pandemia. Heather es bilingüe (inglés/español).