With positive and negative moments, 2021 is coming to an end and what it generated leaves an imprint on the destiny of the person, family, the country. IPN spoke with those who care and have what to say about victories and failures, hopes and letdowns, achievements and losses. How 2021 was for the woman and psychologist Tatiana Buyanina.
The pandemic years, including 2021, passed somehow slower, without social events, meetings and unplanned crises. At the start of the pandemic, she was glass that she had more time for personal projects, while in 2021 started to feel the lack of spontaneous interactions and socialization.
This year it has been three years since she moved to Sweden, her husband’s country. To practice psychology in Sweden, she has to obtain a psychologist’s license, but should first prove an advanced level of knowledge of Swedish. The study of Swedish comes with subtle changes to the view about oneself, the world and persons. All these in the log run favor the assimilation of and adjustment to a new cultural environment. This year she moved from the intermediary level to the advanced level of knowledge of the Swedish language.
Is the fact that after living for three years in Sweden she hasn’t yet obtained a license an accomplishment or a failure? “Probably, if I had formulated the goal as: “I need to take my license in 2021 or I would miss a year of my life”, I would have felt discouraged and would have classed this as a failure. In reality, even if I want to know Swedish as the natives know it and to resume practicing, I realize that the learning of a language is a process that necessitates time. Respectively, I’m in a continuous process of adjustment and development. The obtaining of the license for me will be a normal product of the actions I take now,” said Tatiana Buyanina.
Earlier, she used to formulate wishes at the intersection of years. It was a kind of anticipation of magic. Today she formulates goals and solves problems regardless of the days on the calendar. For New Year’s Eve, she plans only interesting games and jokes for a memorable evening near the family and friends. If she analyzes the forecasts made about year ago, she can say that she adjusted her expectations to the speed at which she learns Swedish: she hurries slowly. It is the year when she purchased books by several preferred Swedish writers that she recommends - Frederik Backman and Lena Andersson. She reads everything these write and admires both the content and the art of using the word.
In 2021, she discovered a number of Moldovans dispersed all over the world. It was the year that the Moldovans made common cause as society and showed in elections that nothing can stop them if they really want something. “I think this experience was an acquisition of all the citizens of Moldova, not only mine”.
How would 2021 have been without the pandemic? Studies show stress among the population increased during the pandemic. The pandemic is a circumstance that has lasted for a period and necessitates adjustment of behaviors to the new realities, but the people went to see a psychologist for a nunnery of cumulative reasons. There were cases of depression, primarily in adolescents. In general, depression is a state typical of teens and should not be ignored, noted Tatiana Buyanina.
She said everyone needs to have flexible thinking. If a solution does not work, the person should put oneself questions that can lead to an appropriate solution. A difference between “needs” and “preferences” should be made. The pandemics are realities that happen with particular periodicity and affect generations of people on all the continents. Just some manage to adjust and to diminish the impact of restrictions, while others do not manage to. Taken together, the lack of flexibility and errors in thinking generate such states as frustration, fury, aggressiveness, incapability, panic, anxiety or depression. Surely, everyone would like this pandemic not to have occurred, but in the respective circumstances, the pragmatic response is to take care of one’s health and of the health of those around. The persons who feel overwhelmed or defeated by particular situations should seek help from specialists. The only thing that the people should do is to take care of themselves and be happy.
