How to Experience A Pandemic Survival in 7 Creative Ways with Perceptual Thinking
“Life is in the transitions. We can’t ignore these central times of life; we can’t wish or will them away. We have to accept them, name them, mark them, share them, and eventually convert them into fuel for remaking our life stories.” William James
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Life struggles are tough right now for an indeterminate amount of time going forward in a pandemic world. Too many people feel physically and mentally locked up, estranged, depressed, anxious about maintaining normal family life, unemployment and fearful of the unknown future.
“It is blunting your emotions. You are losing empathy for others, not seeing other people’s needs, but instead are becoming very self-absorbed. That self-absorption leads to an increase in anxiety and depression. It also leads you deeper into more stress.” Dr. Gregory Jantz
Much psychological common-sense advice can help alleviate anxiety such as do a self-assessment, watch the negative talk and nutrition, walk or daily exercise, sleep better, renew your mind, and minimize news feeds and screen time.
However, I would also like to recommend playing with your perceptions to help perceive things, people and events in different ways. In other words, move outside the negative concepts of knowing how bad the situation is to stimulate new ways of talking, acting and relating.
Perceptual thinking or learning is the process by which our different senses respond to various stimuli to learn through experience. Stages of perceptual learning (neural pathways) can be modified to help change the cognitive process of understanding to see better or see worse, to see hope or despair, to have a laugh instead of tears.
One can hope that a more creative acceptance of reality will make any situation more bearably manageable and change negative patterns of thinking, if only temporarily.
7 Ways to use creative perceptual thinking
If you live with other family members, everyone can participate. If living alone, then share…
