I've been having a really bad week. feeling swamped by how many things I have to do, by all the things I'm not doing, by how much my children are missing out on & by that sense of life being entirely out of control. It's easy then to feel like you're drowning in this pandemic.

What is making it SO much worse are narratives like "A Mental Health Pandemic" and that our children are "The Lost Generation". How can we not feel hopeless with headlines like this? Its natural - especially in times of chronic stress - to focus on the most easily accessible

information. What is easily accessible now is all pretty damn scary. So, a quick health check, for myself and for anyone who needs it...

The vast majority (85% +) of people who experience a significant trauma will show an absence of any clinically significant symptoms of PTSD.

In fact, the most common outcome from a traumatic event is not post traumatic stress, but rather post traumatic growth. The majority of people will emerge healthier, stronger and feeling better equipped to deal with life.

Now, that does not mean that in the course of the trauma they don't feel stressed and frightened and anxious and tearful and angry. These responses are all EXTREMELY normal responses to a traumatic situation.

However, just because some of us (ie, me) might have spent last night weeping into a pillow because life just feels so damn overwhelming, it does not mean that we will not be resilient. Resilience does not mean not reacting to trauma.

Resilience means that after that reaction, you wipe your tears and you try again. Resilience is not about gliding through the centre of a disaster untouched. Its about falling and then picking yourself back up. And probably falling again. But that's okay.

We are living through extraordinarily challenging times. It is inevitable that they will weigh heavy on us. But the research tells us that not only are we likely to survive, we're likely to come through it better than before.

So, as a reminder to myself & to you if you need it, create a structure to your day, a routine that gives your life some sense of control. Look for those things that bring a sense of meaning to you. Whether it is helping someone else or creating something, meaning in life matters

Accept bad days. They happen. Just survive and you can try again tomorrow. Cry. Swear. Then start again. Just try to remember how far you have come already. Do something nice for yourself. Limit your news consumption, especially if you are struggling.

Remember that the odds of are in your favour. We are far more resilient than we imagine. For me, this week has been a tough one. But tonight I'm going to put on jammies & read my book and cuddle my kids and my pets and I'm going to start again.