The coronavirus has brought forward some unprecedented challenges to usual daily living. Many are dealing with grief and loss of loved ones that they cannot even comfort during their last hours, not to mention the families that cannot bury and grieve as accustomed. Many are astonished to have suddenly lost jobs, in totality or partially, and find themselves slammed with financial fears and uncertainty. People are going to lose their hard-fought-for small business. Some are sick and terrified of the outcome. Families are thrust together in quarantine conditions or for some, staying at home means isolation and extreme loneliness. People are being asked to stay home, keep away from loved ones, give up outdoor pleasures, and find ways to entertain and educate our children, who are clearly confused about the strange new world. Sometimes hanging out with family endlessly can be fun and a chance to reconnect in a powerful way, but for families that experience internal tension and unhealthy relationships, these times can be excessively stressful and painful. I’m stating the obvious about the travesties the coronavirus has brought to our society, but it cannot be understated that what society is experiencing today is absolutely a new test to our ability to adapt and conform to new social and personal rules that are imposed, confusing, and sometimes very scary.
Frankly, current conditions have created a s$%*tstorm of potential individual crisis waiting to happen. Health experts believe (and statistics are beginning to validate) that traumatic events will naturally increase under current stressful circumstances like suicide, addiction and overdoses, increased child and partner violence, not to mention increases in levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. It is important to be aware of these added risks today and to reach out to those that might be at risk for any of these potential crises.
While staying at home is not all bad, (just ask any teenager that is enjoying daily Tik Tok binges and catching up on much-needed sleep), the more aware we are of how much this change in our environment can affect us, the better we can evolve organically and without too much stress in our lives. There are many things we can do to help ourselves and those we care about bear through these unusual times. First and foremost, however, if you feel you may be experiencing frequent anxiety, depressed feelings or other types of emotional pain to the point that it is affecting your daily functioning, please reach out to get some support, either from a trusted family/friend or professionally. There are a multitude of professional mental health services available online that are affordable, and in some cases free. Check out https://openpathcollective.org/ for low-cost therapy options.
For those that find the new COVID-19 experience to be stressful, anxiety-producing, irritating, and frustrating, there are some practical steps we can take to help ease some of the discomfort.
1). If you are not doing this already, make a schedule for the week. As much as possible, keep your days structured with plenty of activities in your schedule that address a variety of needs (household chores, personal growth, fitness, and regularly timed meals, leisure activities, outdoor time, sleep, education, family time).
2). Keep your sleep schedule as regulated as possible. Sleep (or lack of), can have significant impacts on our mental and physical health and it is hard to determine what else is going on if you are not feeling “up to par” if your sleep is compromised or irregular. If you need help getting to sleep, there is good information on the internet for tips (do your research) or if necessary, use telehealth to contact a medical professional. Try melatonin or valerian or chamomile tea at night if you have trouble falling asleep. Try relaxation techniques at night if you have trouble falling asleep.
3). Challenge yourself to eat better and use this time to develop new healthier eating habits. While it is tempting to buy the bucket-size cheese balls that are calling to you when you shop, opt instead for a big bag of carrot sticks and ranch dip, or a big bag of oranges. If you don’t have unhealthy snacks in the house, you won’t eat them. Ignore the bellyaching about the missing Oreo’s and settle for small sweet treats. I personally love the Blue Bunny Mini-Swirls which are perfect to satisfy a sweet tooth, but only 130 calories and won’t wreck your gains in healthy eating. Use this time to plan meals and have fun trying new healthy recipes that you can use gong forward when things start to normalize.
4). Limit media stimulation and use trusted sources to get your information on COVID-19 and associated lock-down regulations. Your state and federal government (cdc.gov) has the most accurate information. Unfortunately, there is a tremendous amount of misinformation in the media, so stay with sources that may impact you personally, which primarily is state, local, and federal sources.
5). Keep and expand your social network by utilizing technology and old-fashioned phone calling. There are many opportunities to connect with others via online communications (i.e. workgroups, neighborhoods, school alumni.) Even if you are isolated from family, seek out new connections on social media by joining groups that discuss your interests or join an online book club. Don’t forget, isolated or not, call or text your neighbors to check in on them especially if they are isolated or in poor health. People are seeking new connections right now, so be bold and try something new.
6). Speaking of something new, keep your brain active and healthy with new learning, either by learning new skills, crafts, topics, or adding a new activity you do not normally do. Some examples of new activities would be journaling (gratitude journal, daily reflections), reading, or blogging. The list of potential new skills and crafts is endless and many of them are free or extremely low cost. Some examples are gardening, cooking, baking, knitting, painting/drawing, website design, blogging, furniture refinishing, photography. Ask yourself, “If I had all the time in the world (which this is about the closest you will ever get to that wish), what would I like to know more about?” This is a great time to pick up new knowledge. Who knows, this may lead you to a whole new passion or dream career path. Check out www.thegreatcourses.com for some ideas. Learning a new language could be fun too. Don’t forget to incorporate new learning into your schedule so you can reap the benefits of tracking your progress.
7). Challenge yourself with goals that both fulfill a long-wished-for desire or even something ridiculously fun that will leave a memory of your COVID-19 days in a fun light. For a long-wished-for desire, you can paint that bedroom you have been wanting to paint for the last 3 years or learn to do Latin dancing. Create a lasting memory that will give you bragging rights for years to come, like challenging yourself to watch every episode of Parks & Rec, read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or finally clean out the garage.
8). Many studies support that volunteering and altruistic activities increase individual happiness and provide stress-relief. Using any extra time available during COVID-19 is an excellent opportunity to help others out and there is no lack of options right now for those needing help. Some considerations that are safe for most people are meal delivery, food banks, blood donation, making masks and handing them out randomly or in the neighborhood, checking on older neighbors or offering to do their shopping, and many more. You might check out www.Pointoflight.org for volunteer opportunities in your area of interest.
