Keep calm and stay informed

Today was not an ordinary day in Seattle.  I turned on the news in the morning and the first story I heard started off with the death toll and active cases of COVID-19.  Of course by now, all the local officials are declaring states of emergency in reaction to this medical crisis.  That news, well, that’s enough for anyone.

But then, as many in this metropolitan area are already experiencing, schools and companies have closed for the day, days or even the week while they are being sanitized, even if only a few employees have been exposed to someone who was infected.

Containment is the goal, but the news has said our area has most likely already been exposed over the last six weeks and still, the estimated toll of this pandemic on the population in Washington state, or the rest of the US for that matter, has yet to be revealed.

Ok, so like a lot of folks in Seattle, I was wishing this was the script of some apocalyptic movie, but it is not.

So, I offered to remotely talk with my clients today, but bearing all of the above, they all chose to seek solace in the personal company of myself as their caring counselor.

Going into the office where other massage therapists, acupuncturists and naturopaths work, we nodded to each other in solidarity.  A level of caution was felt for the first time in this holistic healing environment.

I prepared myself by centering and doing some self-Reiki before I saw my first client.

In session after session, the impact of this crisis is revealed at all the levels it effects:  companies curtailing domestic and international travel, instead, utilizing the existing infrastructure of telecommuting.   Large events are being postponed.  The stock market in flux.

One client called it ‘the new anxiety’, and I’d have to agree.  It’s a state of both anxiety and fear of the unknown and not being in control.

But instead of spiraling into despair, I encouraged my clients to rally around previous similar experiences and how they were able to come through the adversity,

I mentioned to my client to recall that after the events of 9/11 there was much uncertainty and fear and it took awhile before a sense of familiarity returned.   But despite the tragedy of the event, it was almost 20 years ago and so I encouraged her to recall something more recent.

I asked her to think of how she handled the recent summers in Seattle when we were engulfed in the choking wildfire smoke of British Columbia and advised to stay indoors and limit exposure to the air.  Those summers were not our ‘normal’ and many things were cancelled.  We all felt frustrated, disappointed and of course grateful when it resolved.

This situation has elements of both past traumatic events but in itself is a totally new experience of traumatic change.

I was honest with her.  I told her, in the coming days we will learn that there are more people infected and there will be more changes.  Much of it will be inconvenient and err on being conservative and prudent.

We talked about what we both had noticed in the grocery stores: empty shelves of water, cleaning wipes/hand sanitizer, medical supplies, and how the parking lots were more than half empty.

So what’s next?  Well, I would advise what the CDC guidelines are issuing forth, and also to be prepared with prescriptions and extra food/water because there may be more ‘mass buying’ as well as delays with distribution of supplies.

If you are feeling anxious, remember that is normal.  These are uncertain times.  Seek support for your emotional and mental health if you need to.  I am facilitating an online Reiki and meditation group March 4^th at 7:30pm if you are interested.  The password is 789141

This was my experience of March 3^rd, 2020

Copyright Eileen Dey Wurst, M.A., LMHC

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