In these uncertain times, tensions can easily build among one another. It's showing up on social media, maybe even within our homes, as people are divided on how to go about navigating the next few weeks.
Rosann Raftery, counselor and family marriage therapist with Lifeologie Counseling in Grand Rapids, said now is the time when we should "get curious" about one another. While we're not always going to agree with our friends or family, Raftery urged that everyone make an effort and take the time to learn about the person with whom they're disagreeing, and know that sometimes how a person acts is just their reaction to stress.
"During this time, our anxiety alerts the back side of our brain and that often can create us to go into fight, flight or freeze mod," Raftery explained. "It goes back to those human, natural instincts. Some of us are processing a threat and want to attack others where we can feel very irritable, and that's often just a symptom of anxiety. So, it's important to recognize that so that we can slow down our communication with others."
Raftery also pointed out that everyone deals with anxiety differently and how they process it may be different from you. Some people live in the "here and now," very quick to react to what's going on around them, while others may downplay the uncertainty, which may come across as dismissive.
