As we anticipate mask mandates lifting shortly it is a good time to reflect on the last two years. We have, collectively, been through a traumatic experience with long lasting impacts.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” was not well liked or well-regarded when released in 1946. America was seeking lighthearted distraction from the sacrifice and struggle of the recently ended Second World War. It was a dark film with flashes of brightness and hope at the end.

Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a commonly occurring disorder (over three million cases in the United States each year) that occurs the farther north or south you are from the equator. It is also called “winter depression.” It can start in younger people and can increase with age.

The Disney animated film Up is a delightful film that takes on an adventure with a crusty old man and his unwelcomed companion. It is also a deeper film addressing loss and the need to find purpose after life has given us a separation we do not welcome.

As we slowly move back into reopening and employees return to the workplace we are confronted with the traumatic effects of the pandemic. Naturally, we want to reclaim the lives we were living almost a year and a half ago. And yet, things have changed, and we have changed.

We are moving towards a “new normal” with Covid. It seems like a million years ago we freely interacted, mask less, with others. We went to church and sporting events without any concerns for our health. We are not out of the woods yet but there is hope for some normalcy with many people getting vaccinated and death rates dropping.

As anyone who is a pet owner can tell you their animals help them in many ways. They offer unending doses of companionship, unconditional love and a sense of connection to the natural world.

As I was scanning through videos on YouTube, I came across a live recording of the Beatles performing their classic, Nowhere Man. I had heard the song many times over the decades and enjoyed and loved the song, but I heard it differently this time.

Many Americans are struggling right now with getting enough sleep. We are sleep deprived for a variety of reasons: stress, anxiety, too much spent on screens that keeps our brains overstimulated.

2020 has finally ended and will go down in history books as one of the most difficult and traumatic years in human history. We don’t have to recount all the things that made it such a hard year, but it included the Covid-19 pandemic, racial unrest, forest fires raging, etc.

Even though trauma occurred in childhood that does not mean that it remains in the past. It has a way of showing up in our adult lives. One way of thinking about trauma is that it is, “the past intruding upon the present.”

As we move into the darker months of the year and covid-19 is still with us for the foreseeable future it is a good time to address your anxiety.

Many people, maybe you too, are struggling with how to deal with anxiety that seems to only be climbing in intensity and duration. Can you remember before covid?

We are in unprecedented times. The triple whammy of Covid, economic instability and protests have shaken us all in the past six months. Anxiety levels have risen as our day to day lives becomes unclear and unpredictable.

The bad behavior of others is often caused by fear and anxiety. Not nastiness and idiocy. What is in your head cannot automatically be understood by others. You have to articulate your intentions and feelings by using words.

I just finished watching A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks. I was brought along into the magic and substance of what Mr. Rogers brought to the world when he spoke this line: “We are trying to give people a positive way of dealing with their feelings.” It holds many parallels to what therapy is all about.

We are living in extraordinary times right now. The last several months have moved us from disbelief and denial to acceptance of the “new reality” of a pandemic gripping our world. We as men are struggling like everyone else to make sense of this new threat to our health, safety and livelihoods. An additional challenge is to take good care of ourselves so that we have the resource to care for our families and others in need.

 Beyond the action scenes and good versus evil elements this is also a father and son picture.  The Joneses are archetypes of the father and son common to all fathers and sons.