From the desk of Editor
Volume 12 Issues 12 December, 2022
Senior Resident at Dept of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore
End of a long year, Bye 2022…..Everyone have gained a lot from this year, at the same time we had to lose some inevitably. It is always an ongoing process to bid farewell to the losses and accept the changes.
Many of us have been enthralled after listening a song from the movie ‘Frozen’, “Let it go, let it go…..” Ever wondered what have we let go in our life. Is it so easy to do? Should we be letting it go? Is it important?
As a child to let go of a favourite toy to be an adult to let go of relationship or a job held dear to being an old person to let go of a loved one, human mind has perpetually accepted to let go of assets/persons/ thoughts/emotions/expectations etc. Across cultures this process has been given importance and imbibed in various ways.
Do we fail to let go? Yes, it happens because of our innate nature of being attached to something/person at various levels. It becomes emotionally daunting to be able to forget. It can be uncertainty of future, difficult to change the existing situation which keep us dwell in the past, disparaging the present and the future. Failing to let go can lead to diverse issues like low self-confidence, anxiety, depression.
Illustrious observations by Dr.Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, by interviewing near death patients led to the well-known “Kubler Ross Model” and 5 stages of Grief, which might be applicable in various walks of life. These are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance (strictly all stages might not be present in all situations).
How do we let it go?
Being self-aware of the emotions we are facing, enabling ourselves to learn from the experience, developing resilience, being grateful of ourself for the good deeds done, avoiding self-blame, accepting the experience as a reality, focussing on the future. Various strategies employed are Mindfulness, Acceptance and commitment therapy.
Letting it go breaks the shackles of the past to enter the present and the future.
We Shall “Let it go”.
Good policy as we age