Guest Post: Finding Your Sense of Control
Center for Reproductive Care has partnered with Center Chicago CBM in an effort to provide our patients with additional support during the COVID-19 pandemic. This post was written by Katie Tesensky, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at Center Chicago.
In this time of uncertainty, it can be difficult to find security and safety. So many aspects of our lives are out of control, making it hard to find ways to ground ourselves in this ever changing world. For those who have had to put fertility testing or treatment on pause, this can be especially frustrating. Too many things feel just out of grasp, leaving us with a myriad of mixed emotions. These mixed emotions are valid. The anger, frustration, and sadness you may feel are real and understandable.
However, that is not to say that finding control is out of reach. COVID-19 is requiring that we adjust our expectations, and pay close attention to how we are taking care of ourselves. Too often we try to set goals that are too high, causing so much stress, and inadvertently putting a big stop to any motivation we have to reach them. It becomes this push and pull to complete the big goal, but having little motivation to do it because it requires way too much. This has been a constant theme of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are being bombarded with things to do to make this time productive, rather than utilizing this time to rest, recuperate, and focus on things on a smaller scale.
We must listen to ourselves and our bodies. What do we need right now? What is going to provide us comfort, while also encouraging us to take care of ourselves? This may look different from what you are seeing on social media or in the news. Taking care of yourself may be setting boundaries, honoring your own needs, spending time alone, declining virtual social invitations. Or it may consist of meditations, intentional movement, keeping in touch with loved ones, limiting news consumption, slowing down, and extending grace to others and ourselves whenever possible.
If you or a loved one is needing mental health support at this time, feel free to reach out to me at katie@chicagocbm.com. I would be happy to set up a video session to talk more, and offer any support I can. I can also help you find appropriate referrals if needed too. We are in this together.
Katie Tesensky, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Center-Chicago CBM
25 E. Washington, Suite 1025
Chicago, IL 60602
http://center-chicagocbm.com/
Katie Tesensky is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at Center Chicago. As an LMFT, she works with both individuals and families to address interpersonal functioning and improve relationships. Katie approaches therapy with a holistic emphasis on systems theory and mindfulness based practices. This allows her to provide practical coping skills to address immediate stressors, while still working toward long term goals.