Finding Peace in a Frantic House: A UNACOV Well-Being Fireside Chat

As 2020 comes close to a wrap, we looked back at how the COVID-19 situation has created a disruption in lives everywhere that we have never experienced before. “New norms” came one after another. When work-from-home measures first started, many wanted to go back to the workplace. Months later, 8 out of 10 then wished to stay at home (Straits Times, 11 Oct 2020) even as workplaces are reopening. School holidays descended upon us again and this not-so-new norm of having almost every family member in the house all day long will be here to stay.

While our family members may be our closest and dearest, the last few months have been trying times for most families. Many have felt either:

“I do not have space for myself”
or
“Everyone is getting in my way”
or
“Responsibilities seem endless.”


Personality differences, children’s misdemeanour, parental restrictions - everything got magnified. Our home, which we should be our Home Sweet Home, became at times a


FRANTIC HOUSE

Deriving insights from “Mindfulness – a practical guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World”, the life-changing bestseller by Prof Mark Williams and Danny Penman, mindfulness instructors Ming Hui, Charlene, and Khai Imm discussed how Finding Peace in a Frantic House, beginning from our own house.

In this session, participants:

* Gained an understanding and awareness of the workings of the mind that contribute to the franticity in their lives.

* Learned how mindfulness helps them bring awareness and to relate differently to difficult thoughts and feelings.

* Learned simple mindful breathing exercises as a useful tool for daily use..