Posted on: Mar 17, 2020 03:13PM - edited Apr 9, 2020 12:50PM by ShetlandPony
Posted on: Mar 17, 2020 03:13PM - edited Apr 9, 2020 12:50PM by ShetlandPony
ShetlandPony wrote:
Here is a place to share how you are coping with the isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
My oncologist has told me I should stay home because I am immunocompromised, so I have hunkered down in my little house. But today I got myself outside and took a walk in the neighborhood. It was glorious! I saw so many amazing views and exquisite flowers. And it felt so good to get my heart beating just a little faster. Gyms are closed, dance classes are cancelled, and some of us are not supposed to even leave home. But the outdoors is not closed! And it is easy to keep a distance from others on a walk if it is not in a downtown area. Nature is healing, and exercise helps our mood and our health. So that is my quarantine hack for today.
What are your quarantine hacks? How are you looking after your mental health? Please share your creative ideas for coping, making the best of things, and finding ways to still feel productive, happy, and connected.
Apr 12, 2020 08:30AM Georgia1 wrote:
I love that! Such the perfect image for this odd Easter. Best wishes to all.
Apr 12, 2020 08:34PM wc3 wrote:
I've been going for walks and trying to figure out how to do on my phone things I would typically do on my computer.
Aug 28, 2020 07:10AM moderators wrote:
Hi All,
Our editorial team is working to develop an article about strategies for continuing to manage long-term physical distancing and spending much more time at home. This thread has been incredibly helpful! Now that more time has passed and we're all more settled into our "new normal" routines, have any new strategies emerged for you that are working to help you stay connected, productive, entertained, relaxed, and/or healthy?
Thanks so much!
The Mods
Aug 28, 2020 12:49PM Togethertolearn wrote:
my gym is open so I go to classes even if I don't want to, it's gives me time alone out of the house and the 'high' afterwards is addicting. I also downloaded an app, that I won't name of course, that helps with meditation etc so I can get some sleep at night. And cooking. I realize it's great and I'm allowed to take time for myself while stuck in unnormal life. Also I usually lay down in the afternoon, on the couch, again for that alone time instead of for sleep, to center my thinking or just escape in thoughts midday
Aug 29, 2020 01:49PM moderators wrote:
Thanks for sharing, Togethertolearn!
Aug 29, 2020 02:59PM jelson wrote:
My gym reopened but is holding classes outside and if you want to a mat and to use weights you have to bring your own. I had always enjoyed walking the mile or so to the gym but even two 10lb weights were too much and I had to drive instead. For my birthday I asked my husband for an under airplane seat suitcase with wheels, more weights!!, a yoga mat and a Wondrous Adventures of Mittens water bottle so I can resume walking to and from the gym in style.
Sep 1, 2020 06:53AM moderators wrote:
Go, Jelson!! Very inspirational!
Sep 1, 2020 02:29PM MaritDW wrote:
My big salvation has been finding mindfulness! I've had 2 surgeries, a daughter's wedding with reception, 2 adult kids moving across the country with their spouse and my one and only grandchild (center of my universe) and found out some alarming diagnosis with me developing severe anxiety and several family members mental health condition much worse than originally thought.
I'm a devout Christian and feel like I've been supported by my faith and seeing the Hand of God in my life in little ways all throughout. But I also discovered this practice and it's really been a game changer. I've gone from frequently anxious, out of breath and shaking, to rare moments that quickly dissapate with focused attention.
I'd heard about it for a long time and on the free app 10 percent (10 percent happier) I learned what it is and how it works. There are tons of apps that help by my favorite is breethe and I use it at least once a day. I can't recommnd this practice enough.
Picture guided meditation. (I lost you, didn't I. No really, stay with me. It gets easier.) You learn to zone out of all the things in the future and the past and get in tune with your body and surroundings in the exact present. It's a procedure that takes practice and a litle help to understand from skeptics like me, but it's SO worth it.
I listen to sessions that last from 1 minute to 30 minutes. I learn to relax and tune out the rest and live entirely in the present. Then, I can process anxiety, or stress, or sleeplessness, or past trauma, or future problems, etc. in a relaxed and strong environment. I am able to read the response of my body to better understand what my issues are. What am I really afraid of? And then, skip the worry stage and face it head on and fix it or understand it.
I love how I can choose so many (hundreds of topics and meditations, music, hypnotherapy, bedtime stories, etc.) options to help me connect with what I'm needing at the moment.
So how is this a game changer? I am able to be more self-aware. I sense approaching anxiety and am able to prevent the build up. Instead of getting caught up in it, I observe it and am able to help disipate it without any meditation. I just have to take a deep breath, refocus my brain on the moment, ask myself what I can and should do, and then do it.
I wish I had learned this decades ago. It doesn't fix my problems. Not one. But it gave me the tools I need to help me fix my own problems from a stronger position.
There are tons of mindfulness apps. I'm glad I started on 10 percent because I was such a skeptic and their free introduction series was fantastic. I'm on Breethe now and love it, but needed the other app to get me ready for it. Look one up and see if it helps you. It takes a week or two to see results and then they are pretty quick to build- at least for me! You've got nothing to lose except a few minutes each day. Give it a try.
