In previous blogs we have been exploring the notion of stress generated by the pandemic as Continuing Incidious Traumatic Stress, and from that perspective examining ways of understanding and coping with the stress in healthy and positive ways, we have looked at the feelings and behaviours that are around for many of us, and also at ways of normalising them associating those that have been and continue to be caused by the pandemic, and those that belonged to us previously.
Now it is time to journey further and consider our personality in terms of parts, or ‘sub personalities’ as they are known, without being too academic let’s engage with these, and then develop further, the ways of engaging our spirits to manage the trauma.In a straightforward way you will be familiar with how one frequently says things like’I don’t know why but that doesn’t sit well with a part of me’, or alternately you may wonder in more lucid times why you can be very competent in many aspects of your life and get tripped up by what might be considered low self esteem?
If you imagine an orchestra playing supremely well bringing in all its parts as the conductor engages them, and suddenly the string section goes out of tune as a violin’s string snaps, and having discovered the problem the conductor orders a break until the instrument is repaired and tuned in again, this is a metaphor for some of the behaviour of our personalities. We can operate with competence day and daily, and then, we find, perhaps due to stress, we are in some sort of crisis and it is hard to understand where our ability to cope has gone?
No one is fully conscious and aware but for many, perhaps highly functioning individuals, we are more curious and self examining of our behaviours and life experiences,accordingly, if we are willing, it is possible to follow and explore our behaviours, if we are healthy enough, in an endeavour to live life more fully.
Each of us, no matter how healthy and competent we are at dealing with life are rather like the orchestra above functioning, until we are amazed by some ‘out of tune’ behaviour’ the good thing is that we can work with this and repair it so we will operate tunefully again, and furthermore we will have gained in knowledge of ourselves for future reference.
Each of us have sub personalities, which described simply are rather like the orchestra parts above flowing and moving together to create harmonious living. working in relationship with another you can learn these aspects of self as they come into consciousness and understand how to conduct and heal any parts which ‘stick out’ in crisis.
Walking in recovery during this pandemic may be a good time to begin this work, as it is more than evident within the world as a whole that regressive behaviour is affecting us all from the highest in the land, to the lowest. Indeed if, those able to reflect could review their behaviours now they would realise they were out of balance, out of tune, and, rather than walking in recovery are almost if not totally psychotic.
One of the awful troubles folk have had since the beginning of the pandemic, is not being able to take a break safety, it would appear, that, for some, all caution has been thrown to the wind and they are just going as they can’t stand the pressure anymore.I can’t do this and I wish I could, but it seems to me that it is important to do this as safely as possible.
So in walking in recovery dealing with this incidious continuing traumatic stress, it is important to have methods of coping that are healthy and as safe as possible, to know how to understand and recover our spiritual capacity, working securely in the presence of another qualified person to tune into our personnel orchestra so that we can repair and manage it’s various parts and it will play and sing its own amazing tune.
ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL IF YOU HAVE SERIOUS MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS.
GO ON TUNE UP!
aoibheann thoughtful reflections 