 By Pamela Mueggenberg, LMHP, MA
I’ve been losing my words lately. Covid finally hit my house for winter this year, and two months later I can tell that my brain is still recovering from hosting its unwelcome guest. It’s not as though I’m forgetting words, having them lounge on my tongue until they’ve run off on a beach vacation to find themselves. It’s more like the words are sleeping in my brain; even with alarms and klaxons and their nest shaking in frustration, they continue to snooze completely untroubled by their rampant absenteeism. Often my mind attempts to find a way around the word, trying to communicate the emotion or image even if the sound is gone. I was as surprised as anybody when I called wrapping paper “surprise blankets” and my cat as “anger fluff.” I was talking to a friend of mine, a speech therapist, who gave me a few tips to help me find my words again. “The biggest challenge is not to freak out,” she said. “When you can’t find the path to a word our first inclination is to clamp down and force your way through. Take a breath, remember you’re not crazy, and it will come to you eventually.” This struck me as really good advice. We are all faced with the unknown - what will happen today, this year, this decade. What challenges and injuries we or our loved ones will encounter. What we think we can control when really, we’ve just been lucky so far. This time in history has stripped away some of the security we took for granted, and it makes sense that we would fill in the gaps of our knowledge with assuming the worst. How many times have you heard the phrase “end of the world” this week? We are facing serious challenges and have a lot of work ahead of us but the assumption that the unknown is imminently doomed isn’t true. The truth is we don’t know. And not knowing is not the same thing as annihilation. Instead, let’s take a breath. Remember who you are. And the future will come. And when it does, you will have an opportunity to show your values and strengths and keep those you love in your heart. You have those same opportunities today, and today we can choose what to do. So, plant a garden, hug your friends, pick up trash, and live a life you’re proud of. And the words will come. To read the complete newsletter, click here.
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