L-R: NWCH Hub Co-ordinator Diane Haines with NWCH Chief Executive Naomi Watkins-Ligudzinska
Experienced counsellor Naomi Watkins-Ligudzinska has warned that as the UK tries to adapt to a “new normal”, many people are not experiencing the sense of freedom they anticipated.
The Chief Executive of Lincoln-based NWCH (the Naomi Watkins Counselling Hub) said instead of enjoying a sense of relief, many are battling an unexpected rush of fresh anxieties and unsettling emotions.
When the Coronavirus pandemic broke, people were forced to make drastic lifestyle changes. Those adjustments hit hard, to the degree where NWCH’s counsellors found themselves overwhelmed with requests for help.
They quickly found themselves counselling 130 people a week and having to create a waiting list for others desperate for help. Now the Hub is seeing a further surge in requests for support from people who are finding it hard to understand their feelings.
Whilst lockdown itself was a new experience for everyone, its effects affected everyone in different ways. In today’s “post lockdown” environment people are reporting new worries, particularly with the Government’s furlough scheme tapering out and the rising prospect of redundancy, as well as ongoing concerns about their children’s education.
During the lockdown, many children missed the structure of going to school, parents found themselves juggling home-schooling with working from home and key workers threw themselves into the challenges of supporting the population by continuing to go out to work. People furloughed had to accept that they were unable to continue working for the foreseeable future.
The “new normal” has allowed some businesses re-open, but others have decided to close their doors. Eating out is being encouraged, but many restaurants and eateries are unable to accommodate their usual number of diners due to social distancing measures.
Would-be holidaymakers are still facing long delays to get refunds for cancelled breaks, the prospect of having to quarantine themselves on their return to the UK if they do manage to take an overseas break and many people who have been on furlough are wondering if they will actually have a job to return to.
