Many of us will have experienced loss in some form this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This could be a loss of job, education or health. It could be a sense of losing control of your life or a situation. It could be missing those precious moments with family, friends and loved ones.

Our member Catherine Gallacher said counselling can help you start to process what鈥檚 happened this year.

Speak to a counsellor

鈥淚f you feel you鈥檙e struggling, reach out for support,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen you speak to a counsellor, you鈥檙e talking about how you鈥檙e feeling and sharing your perspective.

鈥淥ften when someone is sitting in their own perspective they feel stuck.

鈥淐ounselling can help you to challenge your negative thoughts, and to find coping mechanisms, strategies and tools to help you move forward.鈥�

Catherine added: 鈥淚 like to give people goals, tasks to do so they can start getting a routine and structure in place. Tasks gives us control and a sense of normality.

鈥淎 lot of the structure may have gone because of what鈥檚 happening at the moment, and often getting these small structures and tools in place helps to get things moving again.

Self-care

鈥淧utting in place self-care. Eating healthily, getting better sleep, regular exercise, connecting with the right kind of people, looking at your work practices.

鈥淭hen also looking at the internal dialogue, with how they鈥檙e processing things.鈥�

Christmas and the end of the year is often a time for reflection and contemplation, and looking back on the losses you鈥檝e experienced in 2020 may leave you feeling a range of emotions, such as anger, guilt or grief.

Catherine, who is based in Glasgow, said: 鈥淓motions can be overwhelming. You can feel tearful, angry, sad, confused and uncertain.

Confidence and resilience

鈥淪ome people have lost a lot of confidence and resilience.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about rebuilding that resilience and confidence, and helping people find some level of certainty and assuredness in all of this, to find anchors in their life.

鈥淓ven though there鈥檚 loss and change, people are adapting. It鈥檚 given us a chance to reflect and process some of these feelings.

鈥淧eople have invested more in each other. They鈥檝e had to become more aware of each other, and consider each other鈥檚 health and circumstances.

鈥淚 always think from a negative situation we can gain something insightful, which we can benefit from,鈥� she added.

Tips to cope

Catherine has offered tips for people to cope with loss as the year draws to a close.

鈥淭ry breathing techniques,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd mindfulness, where you stay with what you know rather than catastrophising and over-thinking.

鈥淓xercise is really important. Connecting and engaging with people around you as well.

鈥淢aybe join an online class such as yoga or dance classes.

鈥淜eeping a journal helps you to not just focus on the negatives, but helps you to look at why you鈥檙e feeling this way, to own it and acknowledge it.

鈥淎nd counselling can give you those strategies and tools to move you forward,鈥� she added.

If you鈥檝e been affected by the issues in this article, find a 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor near you via our therapists鈥� directory.