Doesn’t it feel like for the past five years or so we’ve all been basically stagnant in our everyday roles? Caught in a slump and in need of a change? Yeah, me too, and I think it’s due to the social climate that we find ourselves immersed in lately….and it’s exhaustingly non-exciting. Here’s my take on it: In the US, we’ve created so many standards that constantly keep changing, being updated to the ‘next big thing’ that it’s hard to keep up with everything. Beauty standards, dieting, fitness, health, longevity….all of the old standards and what used to be considered the status quo have been or are now being tossed out because like it or not, we are at the dawn of a new world that we all need to accommodate.

What is in this new world atmosphere and why is it so important? Communally, as a country, we had this dark veil over our heads the past few years due to COVID-19, political unrest, over-indulgence, etc. We can’t ignore the fact that these things exist and continue to affect how we live, and communicate with each other as civil humans and what an emotional/mental toll it takes on all of us. One of the things that is affecting us the most these days, and I didn’t want to touch this topic, but we can’t ignore the fact that politics is a key player in our collective unrest. Since 2016, when Donald Trump first threw his hat in the ring for being the Republican nominee for President against Hillary Clinton, I never thought he’d win, but it’s funny how things turn out sometimes. For the next four years, we all were witness to some scary events, a pandemic, job decline, and more. A biproduct of these happenings are the overwhelming anxiety it takes to be able to mitigate through all of the news updates, political outlook and everything else we have to deal with in a day.

Without getting political but if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you probably can guess where I lean, lol. Managing stress and anxiety over things that seemingly grow worse and worse by literally every single day is tough, even for people who work with individuals who experience depression, anxiety and a multitude of other issues. My adivce? TURN OFF and TUNE OUT! We’re bombarded with endless bits of information, updates and breaking stories that we aren’t able to digest it and really absorb what is going on. Our brains weren’t designed to handle so much changing information at a very fast pace, so there’s going to be some exhaust fumes that come out of your ears at some point.My daily digestion of headlines and important information consists of when I wake up and get ready for work, before I hit the pavement for another day, I check one or two news sources to see what is going on in the world that day. After that, I detach from news stories for the day. I think mentally that it makes me calmer and more equipped to separate fact from fake. This is what works for me and you are more than welcome to integrate it into your daily routine but you need to be able to find something that works for you and stick to it.

Regardless of how you digest the news and find your way through the daily headaches that are going on in your lives, we all need to be able to cope with the changing landscape of this country and the world at large. Things aren’t so black and white anymore and the older we get, those colors seem to fade to a dreary gray. Open yourself up to new ideas, different ways of living and working together in your community to create the world that we all deserve and need to see.

#brandnewworld #psychology #politics #anxeityawareness #depression #groupdynamics #equality #lgtbqia #pittsburgh #medicine #socialwork #fitness #lifecoaching #motivationalspeaker

John J. Schessler, Jr. is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based Personal Trainer, Author, Writer, Men’s Life Coach and creator of the podcast, “Flip Your Script”, which is in pre-production for it’s third season. John also has certifications in Sports Injury, Orthopedics and Pediatric Exercise from NASM, ISSA and NPTI. He is a recent graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Arts in Child & Developmental Psychology and has an Associate’s Degree in Social Work.

For personal training and fitness inquiries, motivational speaking engagments and questions, please email pghwellnesspt@gmail.com. Thank you!