Prioritizing You During the Pandemic
Let’s face it, it has been a tough year. We have each dealt with personal challenges during this COVID-19 pandemic. We have experienced loss of loved ones, income, some personal freedoms, and more. We have also lost a sense of safety that comes with a daily routine. To sum it up, it’s been a scary few months.
Despite these challenges, there are some self-care strategies that will undoubtedly lead to positive outcomes and allow us to show up whole, fulfilled, and able to pour out love on others.
Establish a new routine. Granted, life has changed but having structure day-to-day provides a level of familiarity and security that we all need. There’s nothing worse than coming to the end of the day and realizing that you still have on the same pajamas that you woke up in. So, get up at a regular time, bathe, and get dressed. Also, try eating and going to bed at regular times.
During those hours between waking and sleeping, here are some suggestions of things to do.
Stop procrastinating. We all do it! Some more than others; but everyone has a project or two that they have been putting off. This is the time to get things done. Just think how accomplished you will feel when that nagging task is finally done. Schedule one a day until they are all complete.
Get organized. For me, one of the most important things that I need when feeling stressed is a sense of order. When my surroundings are in order, my brain tends to fall in line. Then, once I’m thinking clearly, I’m better able to think creatively. And, let’s face it, right now we need to get creative.
Eat healthy and exercise. It’s really easy to become a couch potato and eat comfort (read, fattening) food during stressful times. There’s nothing like grease and chocolate to soothe the soul. However, making this a daily habit will only eventually make you feel sluggish and induce acne. And, while the sofa often feels like a loving embrace, when it grips too tightly, it causes most of us to outgrow our clothes. Not only does an exercise routine help with fitness, physical activity also causes our bodies to release endorphins which help us feel better.
Turn off the news. I am not advocating being uninformed; but I am suggesting that periodically taking a break from negative news is needed. Whether it’s a day, a week, or hours, give your mind some quiet time.
Talk to a professional. Sometimes we just need to talk with someone that can objectively help us make sense of things. It’s a penalty-free zone where we can let down our guard and unburden our heart and mind.
Give yourself permission. We are not super humans. A lot of us have spent the last four months working hard to hold it together. We have spent a lot of energy showing family, peers, friends, neighbors, and others that we are okay when really, we are not. Even after implementing the strategies mentioned above (and more), sometimes we are just overwhelmed. On these days, give yourself permission to meltdown and be assured that you are not alone. Everyone of us has had one (maybe two) of these days. In these trying times, and always, what we need most of all is self-compassion.
Truth be told, we don’t know what the next few weeks and months will hold. We never do. But, when we remember to love ourselves we are actually enabling ourselves to take care of all of our other responsibilities.
In other words, you can’t really love others until you find room to love yourself.