I’ve been feeling the full range of emotions these last couple of weeks, from being worried, stressed, angry, fearful, grateful and bored. But mostly, I’m just sad. The tremendous feeling of loss is profound and all around.
First, it was the heartbreak of cancelling clients’ long awaited vacation plans and then worrying about making sure all clients were safe at home, back on Canadian soil. Then we moved to the trauma from the astronomical losses in the travel industry, first among the cruise ships, then the airlines, to tour operators, the massive layoffs announced and then us, the lowly travel advisor, caught in the crossfire right in between consumers and travel suppliers. We’ve all been working in overdrive and many have seen our personal and business losses severely impacted by this virus. I’ve just had some time to take a break from the chaos to breathe.
And then to hear that today (March 24) in Alberta is the highest single day increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, that the second death due to COVID-19 was confirmed, and that the deceased was living in a continuing care centre in our community where there is an outbreak among the staff and employees in the centre.
The sadness is real. Not unlike the grief process. If anything I have learned from grief, is that we need to acknowledge and allow the sadness to have its space. We will come out of this ok. We will all be ok. But it will take time. We need to give it time and do our part, by staying home, to allow our leaders and our healthcare providers to do what they know to be best.
I’m still focusing on my positives and being grateful for this solitude. I might be stuck in my head a bit more than usual but I have also realized I need to acknowledge the sadness among the joy as they are two sides of the same coin.
Because mental health is so important to cope through this challenge we are all facing, how are all of you doing? Drop me a quick check in so I know how you are doing? ❤️