One night, a few friends and I got into a conversation about the Holocaust. One of our group, who was from Austria, got visibly shaken, upset, and grieved. She explained to us that her people feel a Collective Shame over what happened. One by one our group tried to comfort her: but you weren’t alive when that happened! You didn’t do anything! Who knows what you would have done if you had been there?
Emotions in a time of Coronavirus.
Well, sh*t seems to be getting real out there.
There’s nothing like slowing down to make you aware of all the feelings. Many of us can feel them creeping up: a sense of grief for past losses, anxiety, loneliness, disappointment with areas of your life. Maybe you’re feeling feelings sourced in this situation, and/or maybe this situation is revealing feelings you already had; all the feelings you’ve been trying to outrun
Here are few things to keep in mind as you navigate emotions in a time of Coronavirus:
Spot the Symptoms
Singleness in a time of Coronavirus
My feed was full today: full of exhortations to cling tight to family. To gather with your loved ones and worship together. To spend time with the people that life and work might have distracted you from. That this might be a glorious opportunity to remember the things that matter most as you hug your kids and spouse a little closer.
Social distancing has its limits after all. Everyone knows that. No one will let it shove its way between you and your kids, you and your spouse. Instead, it seems – many are reflecting on the way social isolation is pushing people closer to the people they prioritize. The people they view as most essential.
Some words on women.
Someone asked me a few weeks ago – why do you always caveat your views, Fabs? Why do you talk like you’re scared that if we disagree we’re going to walk away from you?
Uh. Welp. Huh. It’s complicated.
After the #MeToo movement first began, I posted a few things about how I think the Church can get better at supporting women. I intentionally steered clear of specific theological doctrines, because I wanted to talk about the things I was sure we all agree on: if women aren’t feeling valued in our cultures, let’s check ’em. Cause we say they are valued, right? And we know women did feel valued in Jesus’ culture.
International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s Day.
My master’s thesis was titled “A Systematic Review on the Impact of Cultural Contexts on Emotional Regulation in the United States.”
Lots of words.
Basically I pulled together every single peer-reviewed study to find any patterns in the ways the contexts we are a part of shape our emotional health.
The conclusion: it’s complicated. There’s no way to isolate a single cultural context enough to assess how it’s impacted you because none of us are only part of one culture.
It’s the combination of cultures we’re a part of that impacts our emotional health.