Transition is a pivotal aspect of life and society. We are born and we start school. We leave school and maybe start college or find a job. We finish college. We graduate. We start or find another job. We commute to work. We talk. We have lunch with friends or colleagues. We return to the office. We finish work. We may travel home or meet friends, loved ones, family. Go to a bar, a restaurant, a park or a gym.
COVID has stopped all this. The pandemic has deprived us of transitions. We have lost the recognition of ‘change’ from something to something else. The change from one state to another.
Many of us have had to stay in our homes, stay at our work ‘station’ within our home. We move from one screen meeting to another! All conducted from the same place, within the same space.
Our lives have become cemented in structure. Missing the impromptu interactions that make life. The joy derived from simple exchanges; meeting someone at the coffee machine, bumping into a friend at the shops.
Like a sentence that for no particular reason is without a full stop commas punctuation question marks speech marks it starts going on and on and on and on and you are caught within a repeated cycle of going from one word one function to another one stage to another without any stops and without any pause without any accolade!
We are all suffering a loss.
A loss of the feelings and experiences that are evoked from experiencing a transition, a change, a move! The move from one place or one state to another. The time for oneself to acknowledge the achievements made and share it with others.
To stop, stare and share!
The pandemic has not only deprived us of physical contact with loved ones but also that mental well-being generated by the acknowledgement of life’s changes and stages. The recognition of ‘transitions made’.
This is so hard!
A piece by Siobhain Clancy
As Siobhain explores above, this lockdown has felt like a struggle for many, and we’re all feeling the strain of the pandemic, and the challenges it has brought to our lives.
In difficult times like these, it’s important to stay positive, be kind to yourself and reach out for help when you need it.
If you’d like to talk to someone about your mental health, contact one of our counsellors for support. Or use one of the following resources:
The Lighthouse Counselling Partnership 