Post-Pandemic Mental Health: Why We're Still Struggling and How to Heal

A few months ago, during a virtual session, a client said something that has stayed with me: "Everyone keeps telling me the pandemic is over, but I feel like I'm still waiting for my brain to get the memo."

She looked exhausted - not the kind of tired that comes from a busy week, but the deep, bone-level fatigue that comes from years of hypervigilance finally catching up. She described feeling anxious in crowds, struggling to concentrate at work, and having a hard time caring about things that used to excite her. "I feel like I should be grateful everything's back to normal," she said, "but I don't feel normal at all."

Can I tell you something? If you've been feeling something similar - like the world moved on but part of you is still stuck somewhere in 2020, or like you should be "over it" by now but your nervous system hasn't gotten the message - you're not alone. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with you.

Here's what I want you to know: your brain and body are still processing one of the most disruptive global events in modern history. The pandemic wasn't just a health crisis - it was collective trauma that changed every aspect of how we live, work, connect, and understand safety in the world. We're still living with the emotional, psychological, and nervous system impacts of that disruption, even if we can't always name what we're experiencing.

It's okay to feel grateful that the worst is behind us AND still be struggling with the aftermath. It's okay to be relieved that life has returned to some version of normal AND feel anxious about crowds or social situations. It's okay to appreciate the lessons you learned during the pandemic AND grieve what you lost. You can hold all of these feelings at once - they don't cancel each other out.

But here's what's even more concerning: the pandemic accelerated existing trends toward digital dependency, social isolation, and instant gratification that are now deeply embedded in how we live. We didn't just survive a crisis and return to normal - we adapted to new ways of being that may be fundamentally harmful to human mental health and connection.

Let's explore what's really happening in our mental health landscape right now, why it's okay to still be affected, and how we can practice meaningful self-care while intentionally rebuilding our lives in ways that support genuine healing and authentic connection.

Understanding Collective Trauma: Why Your Brain Hasn't "Moved On"

The pandemic created what psychologists call "collective trauma" - a shared experience of threat and disruption that affects entire communities simultaneously. Unlike individual trauma, which is often a single incident, collective trauma is ongoing and pervasive, making it harder to process and recover from.

For over two years, most of us lived in a state of chronic uncertainty and threat activation. Every trip to the grocery store required risk assessment. Every social interaction involved complex calculations about safety. Every news cycle brought new information that changed the rules of how to stay safe.

Your nervous system, which evolved to handle acute, short-term threats, was never designed to sustain that level of vigilance for years at a time. The result is what researchers call "allostatic load" - the cumulative wear and tear on your brain and body from chronic stress.

Even if you felt like you were "handling" the pandemic well, your nervous system was working overtime. The stress hormone cortisol that helped you stay alert and responsive during crisis doesn't just disappear when the crisis officially ends. It takes time for your system to recalibrate and learn that it's safe to relax again.

This is why you might be experiencing symptoms now that don't seem directly related to any current stressors: difficulty concentrating, memory problems, irritability, emotional sensitivity, sleep disruption, physical tension, or a general sense of feeling "on edge" without knowing why. These are common signs that your nervous system needs targeted stress relief and emotional regulation support. Your nervous system learned to expect disruption, threat, and constant change, and it's still scanning for the next crisis.

You're not broken. You're not weak. Your brain did exactly what it was supposed to do to keep you safe, and now it needs time and support to learn a new way of being.

Processing Pandemic Grief: The Losses We Haven't Named

One of the most misunderstood aspects of pandemic mental health is grief. When people think about pandemic grief, they usually think about the deaths - and certainly, the loss of life has been devastating and continues to affect millions of families.

But there's another kind of grief that's been largely invisible and unacknowledged: the grief of everything else we lost during those years. Psychologists call this "ambiguous loss" - loss that's not clearly defined or socially recognized, which makes it harder to process and heal from.

The Invisible Losses

Think about everything that disappeared or changed during the pandemic years. Graduations happened over Zoom screens. Weddings were postponed or drastically downsized. People missed final moments with dying loved ones. Career opportunities evaporated. Travel plans were canceled. Holiday traditions were abandoned. Children missed crucial developmental experiences. Adults missed life transitions and milestones that help us mark time and meaning.

We lost our sense of the future as predictable. We lost trust in institutions, in planning ahead, in the basic assumption that tomorrow would look roughly like today. We lost shared experiences - concerts, movies, gathering around tables - that are fundamental to how humans bond and create meaning together.

Identity Loss and Developmental Disruption

For many people, the pandemic also created a kind of identity loss. If you were in college, your formative young adult years happened in isolation. If you were building a career, your trajectory was disrupted. If you were planning to start a family, retire, or make a major life change, those plans were put on hold indefinitely.

This is particularly significant because identity formation happens through social interaction and shared experiences. When those opportunities disappear, our sense of who we are and who we're becoming can feel frozen or confused.

Here's what makes this type of grief so difficult: it's disenfranchised grief. Society doesn't recognize these losses as "real" grief because no one died, nothing was formally buried. But your nervous system doesn't differentiate between different types of loss. When something important to you disappears - whether it's a person, a dream, a way of life, or a sense of safety - your brain processes it as loss.

How Chronic Pandemic Stress Changed Your Brain and Body

The neurobiological impacts of the pandemic extend far beyond the acute stress of the crisis itself. Chronic uncertainty and threat activation literally change brain structure and function, particularly in areas responsible for memory, emotional regulation, and decision-making.

The Stress Response System Overload

When your stress response system is activated chronically, several things happen:

Cortisol dysregulation: Prolonged elevation of stress hormones can lead to inflammation, immune system suppression, and difficulty with emotional regulation.

Hippocampus shrinkage: The brain region responsible for memory and learning can actually shrink under chronic stress, leading to concentration and memory problems many people are still experiencing.

Amygdala hyperactivity: The brain's alarm system becomes oversensitive, leading to increased anxiety and emotional reactivity even in safe situations.

Prefrontal cortex impairment: The area responsible for executive function, decision-making, and emotional regulation struggles to function optimally under chronic stress.

Physical Manifestations of Pandemic Stress

The body keeps score of extended stress periods, often manifesting in:

• Unexplained physical pain and tension

• Digestive issues and immune system problems

• Sleep disruption and circadian rhythm changes

• Fatigue that doesn't improve with rest

• Increased susceptibility to illness

Understanding these as normal responses to abnormal circumstances, rather than personal failings, is crucial for healing.

Social Re-entry Challenges: Managing Social Anxiety and Connection Difficulties

After years of limited social interaction, mask-wearing that hid facial expressions, and virtual communication that lacks the nuance of in-person connection, many people are finding that social situations feel harder than they used to.

The Social Muscle Atrophy Effect

Social skills, like any other skills, can become rusty when we don't use them regularly. This might show up as social anxiety symptoms including:

• Feeling drained after social events that you used to enjoy

• Struggling with small talk or reading social cues

• Feeling overstimulated in groups or crowded spaces

• Increased social anxiety or self-consciousness

• Difficulty maintaining conversations or feeling socially "out of practice"

The Isolation Habit Formation

Many people developed what I call "isolation habits" during the pandemic - ways of being alone that felt safe and comfortable. While solitude can be healthy, some people now find it difficult to break these patterns even when they want more connection.

For neurodivergent people especially, the social re-entry process can be particularly exhausting. The masking and social effort that neurotypical social interaction requires may feel more difficult after years of having more control over their social environment.

Boundary Realizations and Relationship Shifts

The pandemic also gave many people clarity about which relationships and social obligations were actually draining rather than nourishing. Some discovered they actually prefer less social stimulation than they thought, while others realized that many of their pre-pandemic social activities weren't bringing them genuine joy or connection.

This can create guilt and confusion: Is it healthy to want less social interaction, or is it avoidance? The answer often lies in whether your choices are coming from fear or from genuine self-awareness.

Burnout Recovery: Redefining Work and Productivity After Pandemic

The pandemic forced a global experiment in how we work, and the results have fundamentally shifted many people's relationship to productivity, career, and work-life balance.

The Productivity Guilt Epidemic

Many people experienced what psychologists call "productivity guilt" during the pandemic - feeling bad for not being as productive while processing collective trauma. This was compounded by the cultural pressure to use lockdown time to be creative, learn new skills, or somehow "optimize" the experience of living through a global crisis.

This guilt continues today as people struggle with concentration, motivation, and energy levels that may still be affected by pandemic stress. Understanding that decreased productivity during and after trauma is normal and protective can help reduce this self-criticism and support burnout recovery.

The Great Reconsideration of Work Values

The pandemic forced many people to confront the unsustainability of hustle culture. When basic survival became the priority, the pressure to constantly achieve and optimize became obviously absurd. Many people had a reckoning with their relationship to work and success that continues to affect their career choices and life priorities.

Common shifts include:

• Decreased tolerance for workplace dysfunction and meaningless tasks

• Increased prioritization of work-life balance and personal time

• Greater awareness of what types of work feel meaningful versus draining

• Difficulty returning to pre-pandemic levels of work intensity or commitment

The Remote Work Identity Crisis

For many, working from home blurred boundaries between personal and professional identity in ways that are still being processed. Some discovered they thrive with more autonomy and less office social pressure, while others felt isolated and struggled with motivation without external structure.

The hybrid work model that many companies have adopted creates its own challenges, requiring constant code-switching between different work environments and social expectations.

Health Anxiety and Hypervigilance: When Safety Feels Impossible

One of the lasting impacts many people are still experiencing is an increased sensitivity to health concerns and a hypervigilance around illness and safety. After years of calculating risk for every interaction, many people find they can't turn off that threat-detection system.

This might show up as continued anxiety about getting sick, difficulty being in crowded spaces without feeling panicked, or an ongoing preoccupation with cleanliness and contamination. Some people find themselves still wearing masks not because they necessarily think they need to, but because it feels psychologically safer.

For others, the focus has shifted to general health anxiety - suddenly being more aware of every ache, pain, or unusual sensation in their body and immediately fearing the worst. When you've spent years being told that a virus could be anywhere and anyone could be a threat, it makes sense that your nervous system would continue to be on high alert for potential dangers.

There's no shame in still feeling cautious about your health or needing extra safety measures to feel comfortable. Your nervous system is still recalibrating, and pushing yourself to feel "normal" before you're ready often just creates more anxiety.

Perhaps one of the most concerning long-term impacts of the pandemic is how it accelerated our culture's shift toward digital dependency and away from the types of human connection that actually support mental health.

The Screen Time Explosion That Never Decreased

During lockdowns, screen time increased dramatically out of necessity. But what was supposed to be temporary has become the new normal. Many people are now spending more time than ever on phones, computers, and streaming services, even though restrictions have lifted.

This isn't just about "too much screen time" - it's about how digital consumption affects our brains and our capacity for authentic connection, creativity, and emotional regulation.

The Dopamine-Driven Culture We've Created

Our post-pandemic world has become even more dominated by the instant gratification and dopamine hits that social media, gaming, and digital entertainment provide. This creates several problems:

Decreased tolerance for boredom: Boredom is actually crucial for creativity, self-reflection, and emotional processing. When we immediately reach for phones or screens whenever we feel unstimulated, we lose access to these important mental processes.

Shortened attention spans: The constant switching between apps, notifications, and digital inputs trains our brains to expect rapid stimulation changes, making it harder to focus on single tasks or engage in deep thinking.

Comparison and inadequacy: Social media continues to provide endless opportunities for social comparison, which research consistently shows increases depression and anxiety.

Pseudo-connection replacing real connection: Digital interaction can feel like connection but often lacks the nervous system regulation and emotional attunement that in-person relationships provide.

The Creativity and Learning Crisis

Perhaps most concerning is how our increased digital dependency is affecting our capacity for learning and creativity. When we immediately Google answers instead of sitting with questions, when we watch videos instead of reading, when we multitask instead of focusing deeply on single activities, we're not becoming smarter or more capable - we're becoming more dependent on external stimulation and validation.

The pandemic was an opportunity to develop new skills, deepen relationships, and cultivate inner resources. Instead, many people developed coping strategies that may be ultimately harmful to their mental health and personal growth.

Values Clarification: What Matters Now?

Despite the challenges, the pandemic also created opportunities for many people to reassess their priorities and values. When everything non-essential was stripped away, many people gained clarity about what actually matters to them.

The Mental Health Awareness Revolution

Mental health conversations became mainstream in ways they never had before. Therapy waiting lists grew as people recognized that emotional support isn't just for crisis situations. The importance of rest, boundaries, and saying no became more widely accepted.

This shift represents a fundamental change in how we think about psychological well-being - from something to address only when it's broken to something to actively cultivate and protect.

Rediscovering Simple Pleasures and Local Community

Many people developed a deeper appreciation for simple pleasures during the pandemic: time in nature, cooking at home, connecting with loved ones, reading, creating art. The value of local community, essential workers, and the interconnectedness of global health and well-being became more visible.

The challenge now is integrating these insights into a world that often operates as if nothing has changed. How do you maintain pandemic-learned boundaries when workplace culture pressures you to over-function? How do you hold onto the appreciation for simple pleasures when consumer culture tells you to want more?

Embracing Authentic Living

The pandemic experience led many people to make changes they'd been putting off, pursue relationships they'd been avoiding, or let go of grudges and expectations that no longer served them.

This increased awareness of what truly matters can be a powerful motivator for living more authentically and intentionally.

Mental Wellness Through Intentional Self-Care: Goals for Sustainable Healing

Understanding what happened to us collectively is only the first step. The real work is practicing intentional self-care and creating lives that support genuine healing, authentic connection, and sustainable mental wellness in a world that often pulls us away from these things.

Rebuilding Genuine Connection Skills

One of the most profound losses of the pandemic was the erosion of our natural ability to connect deeply with others. Years of masked interactions, virtual meetings, and socially distanced relationships have left many people feeling out of practice with the subtle art of human connection. We've become accustomed to the safety of screens and the control of digital interaction, where we can edit our responses, mute when we need space, and avoid the vulnerability that comes with real-time, face-to-face connection.

But genuine connection - the kind that actually regulates our nervous systems and meets our deep human need for belonging - requires presence, vulnerability, and the willingness to be seen in our imperfection. It requires us to tolerate the messiness of human emotion, the awkwardness of pauses in conversation, and the uncertainty of not knowing exactly how someone will respond.

Rebuilding these skills takes patience and intentional practice. It's like strengthening a muscle that's been underused - it may feel uncomfortable at first, but with gentle, consistent effort, your capacity for authentic connection will return and even deepen.

Practice presence in relationships: This means putting phones away during conversations, making eye contact, and giving full attention to the people you're with.

Cultivate depth over breadth: Instead of trying to maintain numerous surface-level relationships, focus on developing a few deeper connections that provide mutual support and genuine intimacy.

Learn to tolerate social discomfort: Some awkwardness in social re-entry is normal. Instead of avoiding it, practice moving through it with self-compassion.

Create analog connection opportunities: Prioritize activities that don't involve screens - cooking together, walking, playing games, having conversations without the distraction of digital devices.

Developing Healthy Digital Boundaries

Perhaps one of the most important skills we need to develop in our post-pandemic world is the ability to use technology intentionally rather than being used by it. During the pandemic, our devices became lifelines - connecting us to work, loved ones, entertainment, and information when we were physically isolated. But what was once survival behavior has now become habit, and many of us are struggling to find healthy boundaries with technology even when we no longer need it for basic connection and survival.

The challenge is that our devices are designed to be addictive. Every notification, like, and scroll provides a small hit of dopamine that keeps us coming back for more. Over time, this trains our brains to expect constant stimulation and makes it increasingly difficult to tolerate the quiet spaces where creativity, reflection, and genuine rest can happen.

Developing healthy digital boundaries isn't about completely avoiding technology - it's about being intentional with how, when, and why you use it. It's about reclaiming your attention as a precious resource and choosing to direct it toward things that actually nourish and fulfill you rather than simply distract or stimulate you.

Create phone-free spaces and times: Designate certain areas of your home or certain times of day as screen-free to allow for rest, reflection, and authentic connection.

Practice intentional consumption: Instead of mindless scrolling, choose specific, limited times for social media and digital entertainment.

Cultivate boredom tolerance: Allow yourself to be unstimulated sometimes. Sit with questions before immediately seeking answers. Let your mind wander without immediately reaching for distraction.

Choose learning over entertainment: When you do use digital media, prioritize content that challenges you to think deeply rather than content that simply provides dopamine hits.

Rebuilding Attention and Focus

One of the most concerning long-term effects of increased screen time and digital dependency is what it's done to our ability to focus deeply on single tasks. The human brain wasn't designed to constantly switch between multiple streams of information, yet that's become our default mode of operating. We check email while listening to podcasts, scroll social media while watching TV, and multitask our way through most of our day.

This constant task-switching doesn't just make us less productive - it literally changes our brain structure. Research shows that chronic multitasking reduces our ability to concentrate, weakens our working memory, and makes us more prone to anxiety and emotional overwhelm. We've trained our brains to expect constant stimulation and novelty, which makes the sustained attention required for deep work, meaningful conversations, and creative thinking feel almost impossible.

But here's the encouraging news: attention is trainable. Just like physical fitness, your capacity for sustained focus can be rebuilt with consistent practice. It takes time and patience - your brain needs to literally rewire itself to tolerate longer periods of single-tasking - but it's absolutely possible to reclaim your ability to think deeply and focus fully.

Practice single-tasking: Focus on one activity at a time, whether that's eating, working, or having a conversation.

Engage in deep work: Set aside time for activities that require sustained attention and concentration.

Read books: Reading, particularly fiction, builds empathy, attention span, and emotional intelligence in ways that digital media cannot replicate.

Limit multitasking: Research shows that multitasking actually decreases productivity and increases stress, despite feeling more efficient.

Creating Meaning and Purpose

The pandemic forced many of us to confront fundamental questions about what we're doing with our lives and why. When everything non-essential was stripped away, many people realized that much of what they'd been pursuing - status, material success, busy-ness for its own sake - wasn't actually bringing them fulfillment or joy. This clarity can be both liberating and overwhelming: liberating because it frees you from pursuing things that don't truly matter to you, and overwhelming because it requires you to figure out what does.

Creating genuine meaning and purpose isn't about finding your one true calling or completely overhauling your life overnight. It's about making small, consistent choices that align with your values and contribute to something beyond your immediate self-interest. It's about recognizing that meaning often emerges from engagement and connection rather than achievement and acquisition.

Purpose also doesn't have to be grand or dramatic. For some people, meaning comes from raising children with kindness and wisdom. For others, it's creating art that moves people, building a business that serves their community, or simply showing up consistently for the people they love. The key is identifying what brings you alive and then finding ways to weave more of that into your daily life.

Identify your post-pandemic values: What did you learn about what really matters to you? How can you structure your life to honor these values?

Pursue mastery over novelty: Instead of constantly seeking new experiences, consider deepening your engagement with activities, relationships, or skills you already have.

Contribute to something beyond yourself: Whether through work, volunteering, or creative expression, find ways to contribute to your community or causes you care about.

Develop a spiritual or philosophical practice: This doesn't have to be religious - it can be meditation, journaling, time in nature, or any practice that connects you to something larger than immediate concerns.

Self-Care for Nervous System Healing and Emotional Regulation

When your nervous system has been on high alert for years, learning to feel safe again requires intentional, gentle practices that signal to your body that the crisis is over. This isn't about forcing yourself to relax or pushing through discomfort - it's about creating consistent experiences of safety and calm that gradually retrain your nervous system to expect peace rather than threat.

The key to effective nervous system healing is understanding that your body needs proof, not just logic, that it's safe to let its guard down. This proof comes through repeated experiences of regulation, comfort, and predictability. These practices aren't luxuries or optional self-care - they're essential medicine for a nervous system that's been working overtime to protect you.

Practice mindfulness and stress relief techniques: This includes breathing exercises, meditation, movement, time in nature, and other activities that help your body remember what safety feels like.

Develop emotional regulation skills: Learn to notice and name emotions before they become overwhelming. Practice grounding techniques when anxiety arises.

Maintain consistent self-care routines: Your nervous system benefits from predictable patterns of sleep, meals, exercise, and daily activities that support mental wellness.

Limit additional stressors when possible: Your nervous system may still be fragile, so being intentional about what you expose yourself to can support your healing.

Build resilience through self-compassion: Healing isn't linear, and setbacks don't mean you're not making progress. Treat yourself with the same kindness you'd show a friend going through difficulty.

Professional Support: When to Seek Counseling and Trauma Therapy

Sometimes the impacts of the pandemic are significant enough that they benefit from professional counseling or therapy support. This isn't a sign of weakness or failure - it's recognizing that some experiences are too big to process alone, and that mental health recovery often benefits from professional guidance.

Signs That Professional Help Could Be Beneficial

Consider reaching out for counseling or therapy if you're experiencing:

• Persistent anxiety, depression, or mood changes that interfere with daily life

• Difficulty returning to activities you used to enjoy

• Relationship problems or social anxiety that seems connected to pandemic stress

• Sleep disturbances, concentration problems, or physical symptoms without medical cause

• Substance use that increased during the pandemic and hasn't decreased

• Feeling stuck or unable to move forward with life goals

• Intrusive thoughts about illness, death, or future disasters

• Social anxiety or isolation that prevents you from connecting with others

Types of Counseling and Therapy That Support Mental Health Recovery

Different therapeutic approaches can be helpful for different aspects of pandemic recovery and mental wellness:

Trauma-informed therapy and counseling can help process the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic years.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help with anxiety management, depression, and negative thought patterns that developed during or after the pandemic.

Somatic therapy can help regulate a dysregulated nervous system and process trauma that's stored in the body.

EMDR can help process specific traumatic experiences or memories from the pandemic.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can help clarify values and build psychological flexibility for navigating ongoing uncertainty.

The important thing is finding a counselor or therapist who understands that pandemic impacts are real and valid, even if they don't fit traditional definitions of trauma or crisis.

Moving Forward: Healing in an Imperfect World

Just because the world opened up doesn't mean your nervous system did. Just because others seem to have "moved on" doesn't mean you need to be on their timeline. Healing takes time, safety, and self-compassion - not willpower or positive thinking.

Your brain spent years adapting to keep you safe during an unprecedented global crisis. It makes sense that it would take time to adapt again as circumstances change. This isn't a personal failing or a sign that something is wrong with you. It's evidence that your nervous system did its job of protecting you, and now it needs support as it learns to feel safe again.

We're living in a world that's fundamentally different from the one we knew before 2020. Some of these changes may be permanent, and some may be opportunities for creating something better. The question isn't how to get back to "normal" - it's how to create new ways of living that support genuine well-being, authentic connection, and sustainable mental health.

This means being intentional about how we use technology, how we connect with others, how we work, and how we spend our time. It means recognizing that individual healing happens in the context of collective healing, and that creating healthier communities benefits everyone.

It also means being patient with the process. Healing from collective trauma doesn't happen overnight, and building new ways of living takes time and experimentation. You don't have to have it all figured out right now. You just have to be willing to keep learning, growing, and choosing connection over convenience, depth over distraction, and authenticity over the illusion of productivity.

Here's what I need you to remember: You are not too sensitive for continuing to be affected by what we all lived through. You are not weak for needing more time to feel safe again. You are not broken for struggling with things that used to feel easy. You are a human being who lived through a collective trauma, and your nervous system is still learning how to exist in this new world.

Mental health awareness isn't just about crisis intervention - it's about giving ourselves permission to still be healing, even now. It's about recognizing that our emotional, psychological, and physical responses to the past few years are normal and understandable. And it's about creating lives that support our ongoing healing and growth, even in an imperfect world.

You don't have to be "over it" to move forward. You don't have to pretend you're unaffected to be strong. You can honor both the difficulty of what you've experienced and your resilience in continuing to heal and grow.

The world may have declared the pandemic over, but your healing journey continues at its own pace. And that's not just okay - it's exactly as it should be.

📩 Still struggling with the emotional aftermath of the pandemic and ready for support as you heal? Processing collective trauma, pandemic anxiety, and the ongoing impacts of the past few years - especially when you feel like you "should be over it" by now - often benefits from professional support that understands how global events affect individual nervous systems and can help you heal at your own pace. Book your free consultation to explore how counseling can help you understand your post-pandemic mental health experiences with compassion, develop strategies for nervous system regulation and emotional processing, and create the safety and support you need to continue healing from this unprecedented time.

📗 Explore more in the full mental health resource library

Rae Francis is a therapist and executive life coach specializing in helping people process collective trauma, manage anxiety and depression, and rebuild their lives after disruptive experiences. She offers virtual counseling and coaching across the U.S., with particular expertise in understanding how global events impact individual mental health, helping clients develop resilience and nervous system regulation skills, and supporting people in healing from experiences that don't fit traditional trauma categories but still significantly impact daily life. With over 16 years of experience, Rae combines trauma-informed therapy, somatic regulation techniques, and practical life coaching to help clients move from survival mode to sustainable healing from a place of self-compassion and realistic expectations rather than pressure to "get over" difficult experiences quickly. Whether you're struggling with pandemic anxiety, processing pandemic-related losses, or working to rebuild your life after years of uncertainty, Rae creates a safe space to explore your experiences with understanding and develop approaches that honor your unique healing timeline while building genuine resilience and emotional well-being. Learn more about her approach to post-pandemic mental health at Rae Francis Consulting.