This week Judy revisited a grounding exercise for our resilience tip of the week:

Au revoir April

By Gayle Kojimoto
May 1, 2020

For a minute, the corona cloud splits open
The sun shines through
I see a familiar face
A friend in the fog
Whose voice is beauty wrapped in love
 
By Susan J. Cohen,
Food for Thought participant

 
In San Francisco, more special events, such as the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, were cancelled, professional sports are still on hold, and schools are now providing distance learning.  Shelter in Place (SIP) orders have been extended and now we must wear masks while shopping, waiting in lines, riding public transportation, or unable to physically distance ourselves. 
 
Some days it’s hard to tune out the uncertainty, chaos, fear, and sadness, to not focus on the losses we’re experiencing.  The loss of touch, the loss of normalcy, the loss of life.  Days blend together and it’s hard to distinguish one from another.  It’s hard to find motivation and to see the light.  I’m calling it Coronavirus Fatigue and I’m sure others are feeling it too.  Dr. Mike Rabow, our director, sent me a post for our blog, co-written by Dr. David Bullard, entitled “Invisible Losses: Secondary Trauma, Survivor’s Guilt and Moving Through the COVID-19 Crisis” and...

Invisible Losses:
Secondary Trauma, Survivor Guilt and Moving Through the COVID-19 Crisis

Michael W. Rabow, MD & David Bullard, PhD
San Francisco, CA

Updated: April 29, 2020 3:45 pm

The world is suffering deep losses in the COVID-19 pandemic.   Already, millions are infected,  hundreds of thousands killed, a global economic disaster and all the suffering that accompanies it.  And even if you yourself are not infected with this virus, even if you haven’t lost your business or your job, even if no one in your family is sick or has died, we all are affected.

For almost everyone, there is anxiety, fear, and, at least some of the time, a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.  In charts and tables, in town halls and zoom meetings, in videos and photographs, our news and social media document real losses in painful and visible detail.  And, for almost everyone, there also are invisible losses. 

This is the “Both/And” virus.  It is true both that many have already died, and that the majority will not.  It is true both that some have lost everything, and that some will only know the greatest suffering second-hand.  Many of us are being hurt by what is happening in our world, and also by what has not happened.  Indeed, there is pain and loss even in what we escape.

We are professional caregivers, usually drawn to this...

Judy's Resilience Tip fo the week:  The Power of Good Memories