Making Friends With Your Emotions During Lockdown

How are you? I hope you are doing okay in this global lockdown!

We in Hong Kong have been in hermit mode for 70+ days. In my family we take turns for grocery shopping every 4-5 days, and stay inside for the rest of the time.

As an introvert, and someone who has been working remotely for the past 3 years, does it bring a lot of shock to my life routine? Only slightly.

The biggest disruption for me at this global-wide stay-at-home social experiment is on how to balance intimacy and personal space with my loved ones while we are staying together within that 4 walls 24/7. Does anyone feel the same?

Your Emotional Rollercoaster

Some days I feel eerily hopeful and peaceful that the collapse of the old world is a necessary process for us to welcome a WHOLE NEW WORLD after this collective awakening. Everything will be fine.

Some days I went down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and survivalist’s packing lists, and the shock, fear, disguise, anxiety kept me up at night.

Occasionally I feel like crying with no particular reason (Is it the full moon?), or anger rises when the government are making stupid moves again.

I miss the happy gatherings with my girlfriends, and my 2.5-year-old niece who had limited vocabularies a few months ago, to now able to tell bedtime stories to her dad aka my brother 👶

Most of the days, I successfully stick to my daily routines of exercises, breathwork, journaling, and meditation.

Lessons Besides Love And Light

As we are all in this together, I feel it’s very irresponsible to just focus on the “love and light” sides of things, without acknowledging what comes up within us that are requesting a face-to-face encounter.

Just like if you are working in customer service, you can’t just tell a difficult customer OFF without handling their complaints with grace, because what they shared shed lights on our growth potentials!

Maybe it’s the long-suppressed disappointment you had when you were young; so as vulnerable as you were, you developed a hard protective shield to keep people at a distance, while feeling no one truly understands you.

Or it could be a long-forgotten passion that got hidden in the dust as you were too busy making a living as a “grown-up”.

It could also be a precious opportunity given for you to mend relationships, and resolve family myths as you can no longer sweep issues under the rug.

I’ve heard many stories from young parents who used to outsource the education part to schools and the caring part to caretakers, are now rebuilding the understanding and intimacy with their children, and hence resolve some deep-rooted pain they had with their own parents.

During this isolation, we’ve also realised so many precious things that we have taken for granted:

  • Fresh air
  • The freedom to be wherever you choose to be
  • Time with our beloved families & friends
  • A healthcare system that EVERYONE can afford when they need it
  • Safety: Which could be a 6-month+ emergency fund, grocery supplies and what else?
  • Knowing that I’ve lived a life with purpose if my life ends tomorrow

What To Do When You Feel Down

So when you are feeling like in turbulence, feel the cocktails of your emotions.

Express them in your music, handicraft, dance, novel writing, baking, painting, sewing etc

Then while you are in the zone of creative expression, at that present moment, we can stay calm within the eye of a storm.

To help you ease your tension in this process – If you are feeling a bit of insecure, especially about the economic aftermath of the pandemic, I’ve created this meditation for you – the Rose Petal Cleansing meditation.

Enjoy!

>>>So I’m curious to know, how are you LEADING YOURSELF in this time of uncertainty to thrive, and to uncover opportunities?