There's more than JUST hand washing & social distancing. Tips for taking care of your emotional health during Pandemic.
While there has been a plethora of recommendations on how to best minimize one’s risk for exposure to COVID-19 (aka Coronavirus), there has been little information on how to protect one’s emotional health through this very uncertain time. While I am not surprised that we continue to focus in our society on the physical vs whole body well being, rather than get frustrated with the reality, I decided to do what I do and write about it instead!
Social Distancing. Self Quarantine. Home-lockdown. These are common phrases that up until recently had very little contextual meaning. While I cannot speak as to the impact this is having on other cultures, I can attest Americans (self included) are not accustomed to having the government put heavy restrictions on what we can/cannot do on a daily basis, and thus the struggle is REAL for everyone! As both a self identified introvert and fairly content home-body (and recovering from Ebstein Barr, I didn’t even know that was possible as an adult to get “mono”) I am even struggling! My extroverted friends, I feel for you!
I miss my 4-5 days a week yoga practice in community. I just starting running & working out at Orange Theory 2x a week. I miss seeing my clients in person. i miss meeting with friends for tea and being able to visit or see or explore wherever I want….. and sitting with the discomfort of the temporary (hopefully) loss of all this is what I’ve been talking about with so many for so long. This is what all that preparation of sitting with one’s emotions is all about my friends!
While you are practicing all of the CDC recommendations to best protect yourself from the COVID-19 virus, here is my simple list of ways to help care for your mental/emotional/spiritual self as well.
Develop a “new” daily routine. (Hopefully temporary) Having a schedule of sorts is a simply, effective way to reduce anxiety and set expectations/norms for oneself as well as a family.
Control what you can control. With so much uncertainty, this is an excellent time to practice mindfulness & focusing on the here & now, and letting go of the events, timelines, tasks that we currently are unable to do or prepare for with what’s going on in our world.
Schedule time to interact with friends (while still social distancing). FaceTime. Skype. Zoom. Group Texting. Send a Letter (you know, paper & pen & a stamp?). We are all in this together, our love & support & humor can be powerful in times of despair. REACH OUT!
Practice Meditation. If you are a disciplined meditator, you know how powerful the practice is to help us deal with difficult emotions and uncertainties “outside of the practice.” If you are a novice or completely unpracticed, I encourage you to peruse the various app’s available, or experiment with the various recovered guided meditations on YouTube. Can you find a comfortable seat or lay down while allowing your mind to focus on a mantra, or breath, or guided meditation script (or at least try to do this)? Then you are learning to meditate! Congrats!
Exercise. We’re all home more than normal. We’re all eating our emotions (oh, just me? Good to know!) & need to keep active as best we can. While gyms/yoga studios/fitness facilities are all closed temporarily, many are offering online content (some for free) to members & community at large. And guess what, outside walks/runs are NOT cancelled. So get out there and WALK/Run. Your dog (or borrow your neighbors if need be) will thank you for it!
Schedule time with a therapist if needed. Just like many other health practitioners, we are transitioning to “tele-health” temporarily, meaning phone/video sessions with clients. While none of our ideals, this allows us to still have contact with & help in this transitional period. We are here to help you as you are either “self quaranteeing” or forced to by state/local/national guidelines to be contained in your home with your immediate family members, what could go wrong? Laughing as I write those words……. the struggle is real for everyone….remember.
I hope this list helps you a little. Remember:
Control what you can control, and let the other stuff go.
Anxiety may come up for you, and it’s ok….breathe, meditate and remind yourself, this all will pass.
And know…you are not alone. We are all in this together.
Peace & Love……