Surviving Social Distancing

Journal

Mar 14

Well, we have entered a new social reality that is unnerving, disruptive and a little bit fascinating - Social Distancing - a new term that has swept our vernacular almost as quickly as CoVID-19.

As my previous post, Living With Anxiety During A Pandemic stated, this week has been stressful, to say the least. We are doing well as we are settling into observing social distancing in an effort to flatten the curve on this pandemic.

In order to corral my mental health, I started to put together a daily checklist to help me stay healthy. I thought I would share a few ideas and resources with you!

Eating Healthy Foods

Eating well offers so many benefits to our physical and mental systems. I know there will be some logistical challenges to getting ingredients when stores are empty or you need to stay in if you are sick. If you are looking at unique ingredients in your fridge/cupboard try putting those ingredients into the AllRecips app - it will pull up easy recipes to cook with the ingredients you have on hand! Also, try following some new Instagram accounts that share recipes, one of my favourite accounts is The Modern Proper @themodernproper.

Getting Outside

We all know exercise and fresh air are great for your immune system and mental health! During especially stressful times it is important to include mindful, meditative and gentle activities that help activate your para-sympathetic nervous system and combat stress. Might I recommend daily walks (which takes only 30 min to activate the para-sympathetic nervous system) or yoga! Visit Yoga With Adrienne for excellent free yoga videos!

Begin A Creative Practice

Social Distancing does offer some unique and wonderful opportunities to invest in passions and hobbies that we love but often are too busy to attend to. For me, I am allocating at least one hour a day in my studio to paint and write. I am curious about what you will be doing with your time- leave me a comment!

Nourish The Soul

Chaos, fear and panic can be so unsettling, that is why I think it is very important to maintain a few centering practices throughout the day to nourish your soul! Some soul-friendly practices might include praying, meditation, singing, writing in a journal, reading or knitting. These slow, mindful, repetitive practices can be done for as little as 10-15 min throughout the day to help calm anxiety and fill us with gratitude. If you are looking for a more guided approach may I recommend signing up for Sarah Bessy’s newsletter or checking out OnBeing’s website, both have great resources!

Friends! what a unique time we are in! Lets stay connected and survive this together!