Healthy Habits to Practice During COVID-19
What an unusual week it’s been as we’ve received news reports of an increase in COVID-19 cases and the related cancelations and closings have followed. Everything feels surreal and to be frank, none of us have handled anything like this before, so there’s been a lot of misinformation, heated debates, and heightened fears and emotions.
The good news (?) for many of us is that this has forced us to slow down, to consider the purpose of our role in a truly interconnected world, and has maybe freed up some of our time, money, and energy.* As our typical busy schedules hit pause, this is as good a time as any to start cultivating a life you love and identifying ways your daily routine can become more aligned with your authentic self. Hopefully this can be a time to focus on rest, renewal, and our humanness. It’s also vital that we practice healthy habits as social distancing can result in depression, anxiety, and overall poor health.**
Here’s a list of things you may concentrate on cultivating over the next few weeks to keep yourself emotionally healthy & mentally motivated. As always, for physical health follow the instructions of the CDC, your physician, health care professionals, and State Health Departments.
Cultivate Your Relationships:
One of the contributing factors to poor mental health and depression is feeling isolated—so it is crucial as our lives change and we practice social distancing that we keep our lines of communication open. One way to approach this is to consider all the new opportunities we have to connect in new ways. If you’re still at work, Amy McGrath, (candidate for KY Senate), came out with a funny video showing all the ways her staff is connecting, but not touching. Air high fives, foot bumps, breaking out with your favorite air band jams—there’s a lot of ways to keep the mood light & still connect on a personal level. If you’re at home and not around people, the good news is viruses don’t travel through phone calls or Facetiming. Download apps like Duo or Marco Polo to keep in touch with friends! Email thank you notes for people who’ve made an impact in your life. Or up your meme game on that group text everyone will suddenly have more time for. Or it may be a chance to creatively share your life with others—maybe write a few chapters of that book you’ve got floating in your head or start a vlog? Paint a picture inspired by one friend each day & gift it to them later. I’ve seen a lot of churches, organizations, and even the SC Philharmonic will use Facebook live to stream otherwise well attended gatherings. So find out what livestream works for you and interact positively in the comments! Or watch with a friend and discuss on the phone afterwards. Start a playlist and invite your friends to add their favorite songs that lighten their moods.
Cultivate Those Habits You’ve Put on the Back Burner:
This is a good time to start up on those smaller habits you’ve been wanting to cultivate, but haven’t had time or space to do so. Get started on a new creative hobby or rediscover an old passion. Bust out that camera you “had to have” and research how to use it. Read through that stack of books. Tickle those piano keys. Take walks in nature or start the day with a YouTube workout program. Find time to pray or meditate each morning. Keep track of how much water you’re drinking. Grab your favorite cookbook & try a new recipe! Spend quality time with your partner and have a “yes day” with your kids where anything goes (okay, where most things go!) Practice going to bed early and getting a full night’s sleep now that you’re not committed to evenings out or a long morning commute.
Cultivate Your Environment:
Staying home gives you time to work on your space & environment. Rearrange your furniture! Add a bit of color by painting an old scrape piece of wood you have laying around. Order photos for the empty frames on your walls (no? that’s just me?) Grab those extra paint cans in the garage and touch up your trim and baseboards. Or start spring cleaning early and do a deep clean of all those hard to reach places. Wash your comforters and pillows. Maybe this is a good time to remove clothes and other items you don’t use anymore. Or tidy up your pantry or underneath the bathroom sink. Organizing and cleaning and freshening up are immediate mood brighteners! You can take it a step further & research ways to make your home more eco-friendly. Maybe it’s time to hang a wash-line or start a compost bin.
Cultivate Healthy Boundaries:
TV streaming and news online and social media are modern day marvels—but too much of a good thing can bring about depressive and isolating thoughts. Which of course is not great when you’re already isolated and lacking human interaction. If we’re home for weeks on end, it will be so tempting to binge all these forms of entertainment. So before it gets to that point, now is the perfect time to decide how long each day you’ll spend with technology. Maybe you’ll set an alarm or put a blocker on your phone signaling when too much is too much. Maybe this is even a great time to detox from technology for a few days. Maybe for your own mental health, you’ll plan what trusted sources you’ll get your news from and ignore the rest of the noise. Whatever it is, make a plan & get off the couch, friends! And remember, scrolling social media is not the same as socially engaging other human beings.
Cultivate Kindness and Compassion for Others:
As we are mourning the changes and disruptions in our own lives, this is also a time of emotional, financial, and mental pandemic for others. For all of those who are worried about access to child care or health care or losing vulnerable family members or getting laid off or going a long time without pay or being forced to close small businesses—this is a very stress inducing time. And as we are cultivating meaningful lives, we have the opportunity to love our neighbors and community. So ask yourself what resources do you have to share? We get to be the ones that overtip and check in on others. We get to be the ones who buy gift cards from small businesses. We can ask those who are struggling how we can help. We can only buy what we need & leave supplies on the shelves for others who need it too. Or we can buy extra and bring it to the local food bank. We can reach out to non-profits and ask what their needs are too. Now, as much a time as any, we get to cultivate meaningful lives that are as concerned with the wellbeing of others as we are for ourselves.
Cultivate Gratitude:
One of the worst things fear forces us to do is to forget what’s good. In contrast, research shows us that living lives of gratitude has lasting effects on our mental and physical wellbeing. These are unnerving times, of course. But we do have an opportunity every single day to be grateful for what we have and for those in our lives. So maybe you’ll say a prayer to the One you give credit to. Or maybe you’ll write a thank you text or put up a sweet shout out on social media. Or maybe you’ll keep a list on your counter, adding to it each day or week things that make you smile or warm your heart. Fear and COVID-19 is contagious, but so is joy and gratitude. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t think there can ever be too much of that
Cultivate Boredom
Did you know it’s actually good for you to be bored occasionally? Boredom is where we can meet silence and stillness. It’s where our brain powers down and we can just….exist. Where we don’t have to be Human 2.0 and do all the things as once while also making it look easy on social media. So maybe you’ll discover ways to make space for the ordinary, the mundane. There’s beauty in sipping a cup of tea on your back porch and watching the sun set. Or waiting for dough to rise and then slicing into homemade bread. Sometimes long processes, boring processes can teach us a lot about ourselves and life. Let me know what you find out :)
Cultivate New Desires
It’s possible that a “time out” of your ordinary life may cause you to second guess what you’re doing and how you’re living. Taking a break from things can be eye opening, convicting, and confusing. You may find yourself taking an inventory on your life, on what matters the most. What if you’re dreading going back to the way things were? What if you feel guilty that you’re happy for a break? What if your life isn’t as fulfilling or purpose-filled as you thought or planned for? If you’re starting to get in your feels or have doubts, that’s okay. For starters, don’t freak and probably don’t do anything drastic right away. This is a great time to explore new opportunities and ponder what new routines you can add to feel more aligned. That being said, I’m opening up more sessions for Discovery Calls because I want you to be able to process through these thoughts with someone. If you’re interested in talking things out in a totally commitment & judgement-free environment, click here for more information. This isn’t a sales pitch, promise. I just know how much coaching helped me when I was feeling burned out and confused, so I want to offer that to others as well. This time we’re in is not easy, and I want to help however I can.
*I only say this to highlight a silver lining and help us process these challenges in a healthy way. Of course this is also very difficult for many people and I do not want to discredit that. I deeply believe that those of us who find ourselves healthy and privileged should be doing all we can to help others.
** Research has shown in other events similar to the current pandemic, it can have lasting effects on mental health. If you start to feel depressed or have suicidal thoughts, please seek help and tell someone. The number for The National Suicide Hotline is 1-800-273-8255 or you can chat with a professional here.
