Surviving COVID-19 mind body and spirit
What is fear? Fear pops up in order to protect us. It’s our own confirmation that we matter to ourselves. The problem is that sometimes fear, though well intentioned, goes too far and becomes destructive. Sometimes we get too lost in the fear that it does more harm than good, and often fear pops up around things that we don’t have control over, thus wasting energy and worrying us needlessly. Fear can be good. Fear can be effective and productive because it can motivate and energize us to take action and follow through with the steps necessary to keep ourselves safe and healthy.
COVID-19 has brought with it a lot of loss and a lot of fear. This is both normal, and at certain amounts healthy. This is a human reaction to what we are all experiencing. Places that normally felt safe are now perceived as a potential threat, such as the grocery store, public restrooms, doctors’ offices, door handles, etc. Interestingly, with our social distancing and shelter-in-place orders, we now have less access to the practices that normally help to decrease anxiety and distress. Gyms and yoga studios are closed, spending time with friends is not accessible thus creating the perfect storm for distress to grow. Now, more than ever is the time we need these self-care practices.
So what do we do about this?
First, I think it’s important to recognize and honor our experience. What have you lost (even if only temporarily)? Many of us have lost some of our social connection, our sense of safety and control, income, weddings, birthdays, baby showers have all been cancelled. As a pregnant mama, the dream of how I thought I would be able to prepare for and celebrate the upcoming arrival of our son has been lost. Yes, in the end a happy healthy family is all that matters, but the dream of celebrating our baby with loved ones at a baby shower, having family come visit the new baby in the hospital, being able to go out for leisurely strolls with our baby while on maternity leave is gone. We have all lost something right now. On some level we are all aware of our loss and mourning it. Acknowledging this consciously is important and can be cathartic.
Secondly, honor your feelings without judgement. There is no right or wrong way to feel. We are all human and have human emotions. We all have emotional reactions. This is normal. When we criticize or suppress our feelings, we get into trouble because often what we fight, we end up strengthening. An emotion is not the same as a reaction. We can feel angry without lashing out at others. We can feel afraid without reacting out of fear, so it’s important to establish the difference between emotions and reactions. Reactions are something that we can choose, emotions are something that we experience. Acknowledge your emotions and take the time to decide how you want to react.
Lastly, hold onto the practices that give you a sense of relief. If having a structured day helps you to feel in control, set your alarm, get up and get dressed, and perform routines as though you were working. Engage in self-care whether that’s living room exercise via a YouTube video, Skyping with friends, or taking a walk along the beach. We can still watch sunsets, enjoy cups of coffee in the morning, watch funny movies, cuddle with loved ones (who we live with), and cook delicious meals. Enjoy the little things. If you need inspiration, check out my posts on simple pleasures. Feed your soul. Feed the parts of you that you want to grow like hope and love by engaging in acts of kindness or planning for the future. Check out previous posts on self-care for inspiration and ideas here, here and here. But point is, make sure you’re giving yourself extra self-care because this is a time of extra stress. We are going to get through this. Thank yourself for attempting to go through something difficult. Thank you for being part of this community. Until next week…