A year of resilience
Just over a year ago, everything changed. Our realities, our priorities and plans, our fears, and even our life projects changed.
It has been a year of pandemic, full of trauma for many and full of challenges for many others. These past months have tested the resilience of the entire population, who have had to adapt to previously unknown circumstances that have taken a heavy emotional and personal toll.
Not everyone is resilient, or at least not to the same degree.
We have spoken with some people to find out what their experience has been like.
We met Serafina Sabaté , a 92-year-old woman with a surprising capacity for adaptation. Her vitality and optimism are the result of someone who has lived through everything, including a war. She suffers for her loved ones and understands the difficult situation this health and social crisis is causing for many people, but she says she has never been one to "stay crying in a corner, but rather to keep moving forward."
Attitudes that help to be resilient
A contrasting case is that of Mayca Padilla , whose life story has been marked by depression and anxiety. Mayca lives with her dog, who has been a true lifeline for her during the worst moments of the pandemic. With telephone support from family and colleagues at the Assadega'm association, of which she is a member, Mayca says she has "had a terrible time this whole period because of this unwanted loneliness," and her mental state worsened when she had to abandon the activities she was used to and her social relationships. Now she serves as the secretary of this association, a responsibility that truly makes her happy and helps her see the light.
We also spoke with Javier Revilla, a social worker with Cáritas Diocesana de Barcelona , who has experienced the pandemic firsthand, on the front lines helping hundreds of families who needed to cover their basic needs. "Work is what will help all these people support their families," he explains, "this is what we now face: job placement in a situation of social and economic crisis."
Each of us will have gained our own lessons from this pandemic that we are still living through, but, as Javier says, we are all equal and we must row in the same direction.
