How do you find silver linings during the coronavirus crisis?
During times of crisis, it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but according to one expert, it’s not impossible. Dr. Jen Hartstein, Yahoo Life Mental Health Contributor and practicing psychologist, says that finding silver linings during the coronavirus crisis isn’t as hard as it may seem. “It’s important to take a minute to really look for the silver lining or for the good for yourself because it gives us some hope and it gives us something to strive for,” says Hartstein. “There’s so much negativity and so much negative news coming out that it’s very easy to just get stuck in how overwhelmed you are. Finding something to lean towards or lean into can be really helpful and that can be where the silver lining comes in.” When it comes to identifying silver linings in your own life, Hartstein reveals that you can hold on to small things you can use later on. “The more good things we can look for in our lives, the more good things we hold on to — it’s kind of like making a deposit in your ‘emotional bank.’ So now you have this great reserve of good stuff so that when a negative thing happens you still have something to pull on so you don’t fall into the well,” she says. Hartstein adds, “That doesn’t mean the well won’t be there, that doesn’t mean you won’t hit bottom every once in a while but having a reserve in the bank is kind of like having savings for a rainy day—you have this emotional savings that can help pull you out of those negative spaces.” If you can’t identify any silver linings around you, Hartstein suggests creating them for yourself. “It can be as simple as ‘I’m really looking forward to watching this movie and I finally have time to do that,’” she says. “Sometimes it means slowing down, taking a deep breath, and really recognizing the small, little things.”
Video Transcript
JEN HARTSTEIN: When we're in the middle of a crisis, like we are right now with the coronavirus, it's hard to see any of a good side, or the upside, or that there's a silver lining in there somewhere. Today we're going to talk a little bit about how to find the silver lining, what it might be, and how you can use it to help you improve your mood.
I'm Dr. Jen Hartstein. I'm the Yahoo Life Mental Health Contributor. It's important to take a minute to really look for the silver lining or for the good for yourself, because it gives us some hope, and it gives us something to strive for. There's so much negativity and so much negative news coming out that it's very easy to just get stuck in how overwhelmed you are.
But finding something to, like, lean towards or lean into can be really helpful. And that can be where the silver lining comes in. The more good things we can look for in our lives, the more good things we hold onto, it's kind of like making a deposit into your emotional bank. So now you have this great reserve of good stuff so that when a negative thing happens, you still have something to pull on that you don't fall into the well.
That doesn't mean the well won't be there. That doesn't mean you won't hit bottom every once in a while. But having a reserve in the bank, it's kind of like having savings for a rainy day. You have this emotional savings that can help pull you out of those negative spaces.
It's sometimes hard to see what the silver lining could be. So you might have to create something for yourself. And it can be as simple as, I'm really looking forward to watching this movie. And I finally have time to do that. It's hard when our minds are racing about all the things that aren't going right to look towards the thing that might be OK.
So sometimes it means slowing down, taking a deep breath, and really recognizing the small, little things, the good movie, that time you might have to take a bath that you never have to take or learn a recipe that you've never done. Those little things are things you can create for yourselves and hold onto as some positive reserve.
We're stuck in an unknown place, which makes it very hard to see that there is an end in sight, that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's important to look at the facts, see how things are changing, see that there is movement forward, and remind yourselves that the more the movement is forward, the closer we are to the end or to a change. And that's where the light at the end of the tunnel lies.
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