Not Again!
“I can’t believe this is happening again!” Carly’s words echoed in her empty apartment. She skimmed the email from her team leader a second time.
Due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the government has implemented a strict lockdown. You will need to remain in your apartments except for …
Carly glanced at the scant list of exceptions. Over a year into the pandemic, things in her country of service had finally started returning to normal, and now this. She made it through the first lockdown partly thanks to the companionship of her roommate … but that ended when her roommate returned home to Canada a few months earlier. Carly hadn’t even had a chance to form many relationships yet locally because she had arrived in the country just a month before the first lockdown. Despair and loneliness now threaten to overwhelm her as she faces the prospect of a new lockdown in an empty apartment.
***
Joseph and Emily have served cross-culturally for five years with their four children. Emily has been seeing a Valeo counselor for anxiety. Throughout the pandemic, deciding what precautions to take has been a significant point of contention in their relationship. Now that COVID numbers have risen again in their country of service, they are under strict lockdown. Emily’s become much better equipped through counseling to manage her anxiety, but Joseph is now experiencing symptoms of depression. The isolation is taking its toll, and he’s struggling with his sense of purpose in serving overseas. Why are we here when we can’t meet up with people? How much longer is this pandemic going to go on?
***
Most of us, no matter what country we live in, can relate to the ongoing toll of pandemic stress. While some of us live in places where COVID cases are finally declining, some of our clients serve in countries where cases are now higher than ever. As they serve cross-culturally, they have the added stress brought on by living in another country, culture and language differences, closed borders, and so on. Some, like Carly, have been dealing with the pandemic in a new, unfamiliar location; some have found themselves on the other side of closed borders from college-age children or hospitalized family members.
Many have hit the wall at some point. For some, this is brief; for others, it lingers.
For some, COVID has been a time of reflecting and recalibrating.
For some, it’s brought anxiety, depression, or relational conflict to the surface in a new way.
And for those dealing with new waves of COVID cases and new lockdown restrictions more than a year into the pandemic, these reactions can be heightened.
Valeo care providers have continued meeting with clients worldwide throughout the various stages of quarantine and COVID stress. We have helped walk people through decisions of whether to stay or head back to their passport countries. We have helped clients learn to navigate relational tensions brought on by tight quarantine quarters or conflicting views on precautions and vaccines. We have helped others deal with depression, anxiety, or other issues brought on or exacerbated by the pandemic. And we have helped many to struggle well through challenging circumstances. We want to help you, too. If you would like to begin your counseling process with us, why not Start Now?
