I’m just checking in to see how you are doing.
Things are really crazy and scary right now; so much is changing every day.
I hope you’re safe and hopefully cozy in your isolation or taking good care to stay safe as you perform your essential work.
I wanted to offer a few basic helpful things to focus on (even though I know even focus is challenging) during this strange and new time.
Sleep
Get sleep. It is so important. Prioritize it. You can use Lavender or Marjoram essential oil to help you settle. Do some tapping (see below) and maybe stop looking at your phone or the news a few hours before bedtime.
Walk/Be Outside
For at least 30 minutes a day. No matter the weather. There is fresh air and now there are flowers. Make sure to keep your sunglasses off and try and get some vitamin D which will help your immune system and your mood.
Eat Well
The lurking fear of running out of food, not being able to partake in our regular food buying habits – AND dealing with this scary corona virus situation – all make managing to eat healthy foods a challenge for many of us. Food can be a way to comfort or to have control when everything else is out of control. But, do what you can to eat well. Try and eat lots of produce-there seems to be a nice amount at the markets, you can always buy frozen veggies, and spring is coming!
(If you want more conversation about this issue you can join my “Weight Loss for Goddesses” newsletter where I talk about eating well and taking care of ourselves around food, exercise and body image. Reply to this and I’ll get you on that list.)
(And let’s be careful about alcohol. I know I was looking forward to a glass of wine every night when I wasn’t working the next day. Then I got a little too excited about it. Be careful and aware if you are using alcohol too frequently, or feel like you can’t cope without it.)
Just because things are outrageous, insane and unlike everything we’ve ever gone through before doesn’t mean we should use it as an excuse to falter on taking care of ourselves. Taking care of ourselves and others is holy important work, especially now.
Tap
What a gift tapping is in a time of absolute chaos. I’ve been trying to tap at least 10 minutes a day. I also downloaded a tapping app which reminds me and helps me focus. They have specific tapping recordings on the corona virus that I have found very helpful. 10 minutes. Now is the time to finally sit down and memorize the points! The app is great because there is a visual that shows the points as you tap through. Here’s the link! It’s free to download and many of the tapping exercises are free. Do it. It is powerful medicine. https://www.thetappingsolution.com/blog/tapping-solution-app/
Aromatherapy
Relaxation and purification with plants has been important for health and healing throughout human history. To keep disease away during the middle ages women would put “strewing herbs” like Rosemary, Thyme and Lavender on the floors of their homes and then walk over them, releasing their scent and germ fighting properties. If you have essential oils, now is the time for diffusing them in your home for purification, germ fighting and keeping people’s moods up!. (Eucalyptus is a great germ fighter and any Citrus like Lemon or Orange are great for lifting people’s spirits!)
(Next time I’ll talk more about essential oils that kill viruses.)
Skin to skin
I work in Labor and Delivery and an important and powerful intervention we actively encourage is“skin to skin” between parents and babies. Research (and common sense!) shows it’s really important for both parents and babies to spend as much time as possible with our skin touching each other. It’s part of how we communicate. Time spent skin to skin helps stimulate a cascade of hormones to create connection and decrease stress. (Which we all know we need for parenting!)
I feel like the skin to skin contact is important for everyone. So if you are quarantining with someone make sure to get hugs, hold hands, get and give back, foot and hand rubs. It can be very soothing on many different levels. If you are by yourself then you can still stimulate your skin, which releases endorphins and is relaxing. Giving yourself back rubs, foot rubs and neck rubs is very therapeutic. Especially if you add some relaxing essential oils like Lavender or Ylang ylang to a massage oil.
And of course our pets! (Skin to fur is also great!) If you’ve got a pet you might find you have been spending much more time with them. Maximize that time by really being present with them and taking a few times a day to really connect with them and physically touch and hug them. It will decrease your blood pressure and calm you down.
Meditation
We all know meditation is such an incredible tool. It really can make the entire day go better or can help you drift off to sleep. While it can be a challenging thing to start at such a disrupted time, there are so many wonderful apps with guided meditations that really make meditation easier to begin or stick with. I love the Insight Timer app which is free and has options for both guided meditation and a simple timer with a bell. Depending on my mood I use both/either. Even 5 minutes a day is very grounding and therapeutic. https://insighttimer.com/
Connect
with others – either those you are quarantined with or virtually. Play games, check in, do art projects- whatever it takes to help you connect with those around you.
FaceTime, google hangouts and zoom make it so you can see people wherever you are. I’ve had some wonderful gatherings: a book group meeting last week, a political group, processing events and just chatting with my family. I even took a zoom yoga class. The new technology is awkward and might make you feel vulnerable, but give it a try and do some visiting. It does make you feel less alone.
Kindness
This seems like the most important suggestion. This is the time to be really really really kind to yourself. Maybe you’ll be productive and peaceful and maybe you won’t.
That’s OK.
Either way.
Some mental health professionals have been saying this is a period of grief and grief, as we know, is weird and mysterious and doesn’t have logical timelines. So, just do your best to take care of yourself and those around you, but be really really forgiving and know that this is a strange time that won’t last forever.
It has taken eons to get this out to you, so I am just going to send it, even though I have so much more I want to say to you.
I am working, the children are home doing intense online schooling and Rob is working from home.
Things are a bit overwhelming, as I’m sure they are for many of us.
Hang in there and be in touch.
Much love to you,
