My Covid19 story

by Nawal Lakhdar | Apr 9, 2021

When I look back and remember last March 2020, the charity I worked for organised an international women’s day and we were so desperate for it to go ahead, we had spent a lot of time and resources organizing it. We made it just on time and raised good money for the charity. But only to find out that the weeks and months that followed were only the beginning of our new life when the lock down started. Naive to think that by March 2021 things will go back to normal. Would they ever? And what is normal?

Initially and after overcoming the shock that Covid19 is real and it is here to stay, lots of us started to find time and allocated energy, creatively doing new activities, including all those house chores like tidying cupboards or clearing that garage or shed. Chores that we will have easily ignored because we were too busy having fun and enjoying our social lives. Some of us even took to gardening and discovered the joy of growing our own vegetables and cooking meals with ingredients straight from the back of our house.

Depression and high levels of anxiety are not total strangers to me. I have had my share of poor mental health and I do have a great empathy towards anyone battling depression and I understand what it takes to overcome that mental and emotional exhaustion. Those inner battles that many of us were or are still living on a daily basis, and the impact of poor mental health on our overall wellbeing is huge. And Covid19 has not made that easier for any of us.

Like many people my anxiety level hit the roof and my whole mental health has been tested. I have to add that being made redundant as a result of Covid19 was not helpful. But life does go on even though these are challenging times. Time is what we had and plenty of it. So, I used it to reflect and to analyse and I have put things in place for a better future. And in all of this I am aware that I am extremely blessed to have a great network of supportive people around me, including my husband, sister, good family and amazing friends.

I am also aware that the previous Nawal would not have coped well under theses challenging circumstances, and this is because I have invested in myself, challenged my old ways and allowed myself to grow up emotionally, putting in a lot of effort in becoming the person I am now.

Every day I am striving towards becoming that better version of me. I have found happiness in the small things in life, life is not full of roses, Covid19 is still here. But I have definitely become better at managing my own feelings and thought patterns, expectations and I now appreciate myself more and the people around me. We are all extraordinary human beings, looking for ways to keep us moving forward in this journey of life.