So here we are at the beginning of 2021. It’s pretty much impossible not to reflect on the past year.

This time last year I was visiting my daughter in Australia, and then travelling on to Vietnam and Cambodia. It was the holiday of a lifetime, but as soon as we got back, there was no time to process or enjoy the memories as we were thrown into the life of coronavirus.

Lockdown: not being able to see friends or loved ones, isolation, loneliness, fears about work and income, changes in relationships with those we live with. People growing closer, others growing apart. Losing loved ones and not being able to say goodbye. Overwhelming fears for self and older/younger relatives.  Some people thrived on it, loved working from home, or realised they were actually happier in their own company. Others found it incredibly difficult.

I would like to think we learned to be kind, remembering that we don’t always know what battles people are silently facing. But there are still some who are hurting so badly themselves that they haven’t yet learned how to manage their own feelings, let alone those of others.

If last year has affected you or someone you know, counselling is still very much available, although currently online.
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can help deal with anxiety or panic attacks. Relationship issues. Grief and loss - which is not purely about losing a person, it includes losing a job, or lifestyle which are all perfectly valid forms of grief. Stress. Trauma.

Please don’t suffer in silence or alone when there is help nearby.

If we think someone we know is showing signs of stress, we can all do something about it.

Encourage them to talk about their feelings, include them so they don't feel different and simply be there.

No one has to suffer this alone ?

Our responses to stress are important. It's essential not to think they will just sort themselves out. They won't.

Stress affects everyone; young, old, rich, poor. But here's the good news. It IS beatable! ?