As so often, writer Louise More has captured the zeitgeist in her latest blog of 2023:
‘We have a new “word of the year”: Collins’ dictionary has come up with “permacrisis, defining an extended period of instability and insecurity, especially one resulting from a series of catastrophic events.” Referring to current events, the Collins blog adds wryly, “much more of this and we might have forgotten what stability and security ever felt like.”
‘But we know that from the garden of Eden onwards our fallen world has rarely known security and stability. The Covid Pandemic has produced a rise in mental illness, particularly among older people. After the forced separation and the many kindnesses in that crisis, many of us imagined that afterwards there would be a coming together and a greater sense of community. Instead, it’s being riven by divisions and war. So what’s the secret of those who hold steady and exude a quiet joy even when their lives are challenging in the extreme?’
Read more here
Louise Morse MA (CBT) is media and external relations manager for the Pilgrims’ Friend Society. She is a writer and speaker, and author of books on issues of old age, including dementia, published by Lion Monarch and SPCK. She is a cognitive behavioural therapist and her Masters’ dissertation examined the effects of caring for a loved one with dementia on close relatives.