Mary’s
Minute
How many times in the last eight months have we heard or
said, “this challenging time”? No matter
how many times we have heard it, it still cannot be overstated, but this week I
read an article that gave me a new perspective about why we are all hitting the
wall right now.
Fortunately, in the times of deep adversity, our minds and
bodies get a surge of energy that allow us to push forward and make it through
a trying time. In the most immediate
way, I think of it as adrenaline – like how a mother can lift a car off of her
child in the moment of despair. (Technically
surge capacity is different than adrenaline, but the comparison helps me grasp
the concept.)
Tara Haelle defines surge capacity, “as a collection of
adaptive systems – mental and physical – that humans draw on for short-term
survival in acutely stressful situations, such as natural disasters.” Back in March, we recognized an emergency
situation – the pandemic felt like a natural disaster as we all hunkered down and
were glued to the Governor’s daily updates.
Sure, we didn’t like it, but our surge capacity allowed us to make the
best of it.
The problem is that after months of living with this
unprecedented disaster of sorts, our surge capacity it depleted. I think the word “exhausted” has overtaken “anxious”
as a word used to describe more people’s feelings right now.
Tara Haelle offers great insight into this notion in the
article, Your
‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted – It’s Why You Feel Awful, which is linked here. It reiterates the need for self-care. We need to feel our feelings, find fulfilling
activities, strengthen relationships, and focus on rebuilding activities, like sleep,
nutrition, exercise, meditation, and gratitude.
There is a reason you feel exhausted and depleted right now. Be kind to yourself and others, recognizing
the depletion of our surge capacity. My hope
is that you can find ways to rebuild the capacity within you as “this challenging
time” continues.
Have
a good week!
Mary
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