Beyond the Byline: Stay strong together

One thing that the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania has always had is pride.

We are a proud people, thanks to our ancestors and our parents, who instilled in us the qualities of hard work, family and friends, loyalty, community, faith and morality.

We have long been a community that has been willing to work hard for little reward. And we have always been reliable, seldom taking off work because we know that if we were hired to do a job, we should show up and do that job.

We have also grown up valuing our families, our friends, our communities. We volunteer, we get involved, we speak out and we all want the same thing — a better future for our children and grandchildren. Like those before us, we strive to assure we leave behind a better world than when we entered.

Now this pandemic has caused much heartache — the sickness and death, the loss of jobs, the extended isolation, the absence of almost everything we enjoyed doing before March of 2020.

A recent study — https://drugabuse.com/clinking-to-covid/ — found that 1 in 5 Pennsylvanians have suffered from low self-esteem during the pandemic.

According to the study:

• 16% admit they have used alcohol to try and ease negative feelings about their self-confidence.

• Almost half of those who experience low self-esteem say this has been worse than previous years.

As the study states, it’s no secret that spending months on-end slumped around the house in a pair of sweatpants, with limited social contact can result in your self-esteem taking a sharp nosedive.

Also, a combination of health complications, financial difficulties and a harsh winter could mean that it may be difficult to look in the mirror every day and feel good about ourselves, the study found.

AdCare Treatment Centers, located in New England, conducted a survey of 3,000 respondents and found that one in five Pennsylvanians say they have suffered from low self-esteem during the pandemic.

The AdCare research found that 16% of respondents say they have attempted to ease negative feelings about their self-confidence and self-esteem by drinking alcohol. For some people who struggle with low self-esteem, substance use — such as drinking alcohol — may be a coping mechanism for when this feeling arises. The study found 1 in 10 believe alcohol helps alleviate feelings of low self-esteem.

It was also discovered that 42% of of those who experience low self-esteem say these negative feelings have been worse than previous years in the months during the pandemic.

The AdCare study offers three tips to help boost your low self-esteem during the pandemic:

• Check in with your mind — Especially if you’re isolating on your own, it can be easy to forget to check in with yourself and your mental state on a regular basis as there is no one around to remind you to do so. If you struggle with focusing on mindfulness, try out different activities which could help calibrate you such as journaling, yoga, meditation or breathing techniques.

• Identify and replace negative self-talk — Lack of communication with other humans leaves more time for us to talk to ourselves. However, when we lack self-confidence, these words can be negative and harmful to our bodies and minds. Identify situations in which you doubt yourself the most; perhaps it’s during ZOOM meetings at work or maybe it’s first thing in the morning when you wake up to a messy house. Instead of being critical, try replacing these words with positive, self-affirming ones.

The AdCare study reminds us that we all have people who act as our personal cheerleaders throughout daily life. Perhaps it’s a work colleague who you’ve grown close to over the years, or maybe it’s your best friend who’s helped you on your path to self-love. Either way, not having these loyal people around to hype you up due to social distancing may have an impact on your self-esteem.

The study states:

“It’s not as easy to feel confident if no one is encouraging you to do so. It may sound strange at first but try talking yourself up before a task or responsibility you feel nervous about.”

It’s good advice. We need to stay focused and in touch with our families and friends.

It’s become a cliche of sorts, but we really will get through this pandemic together.