Staying Strong Emotionally Helps Relieve Anxiety

It is very important to manage anxiety and stay strong emotionally for ourselves and our family.  In these new, troubling times it is challenging. Because of COVID -19 you  are probably experiencing one or more of the following levels. Your emotions are stretched. Your stress level has heightened.

NEWLY WORKING FROM HOME

If you are newly working from home you will have  compromised privacy. Distractions will be challenging. If you have family in the home, It is very important to have clear communication. Let them know that you will need blocks of time when you must not get distracted.

Things that might help:

1.  Choose  a particular hat/baseball cap to wear on your head when working. Let your family know that whenever  you wear the hat you are not available for conversing or helping people in the home at this time. Sounds a bit bizarre but I personally have found that it works well.
2.  Wear good sound- proof earplugs.
3.  If you work well with music then play it near your work area with or without earphones.
4. Turn off notifications from you phone. If you must be open to  calls only have your phone notify you of these.
5. Limit checking Social Media
6. Walk 30 minutes a day. Take advantage of the time you are saving now, because of not traveling to and from work.

CONTINUING TO WORK FROM HOME

You are continuing to work from home but now you may have your spouse working from home as well. Your school-age children are around when before they were not. If you are a single parent you may not be able to even continue to work at home.

Things that might help:

1.  Carve out a different time to work. This may mean early morning or after children are in bed.
2.  This is the time to discipline yourself to train your children to go to bed at a consistent healthy time. The following video I composed some time ago for married couples but works great for single parents as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB7VOF9OaT4
3. Walk with your children outside in fresh air. This helps them sleep better.
4. Dance or do other exercise with children inside.

RETIRED AND CONFINED

You have been use to having your family over or going out when you please to visit friends and family. Now you can’t.. If you are active, there are  so many of your favourite events and places of recreation that have been closed down.

Things that might help:

1. Learn a new dance with your mate from Google  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJSb2fhUtMs
2. Learn some new dance steps for yourself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgDppkLnImI
3. Turn off the news and get out the dominoes or card games!
4. Stay off social media in the evening.
5. Limit your social media/cut your time on FB to 1/2 of what you usually do.
6. Phone another retired person and promise each other to have a chat with no virus words in the  conversation.
7. Get some fresh air and sit around a circle of neighbours in the sunshine 6 ft from each other.

Staying strong emotionally helps you physically.

PARENTING AT MORE HEIGHTENED LEVELS

You are now parenting 24/7 until they get to sleep! You have run out of things to do with them. Teachers are asking you to teach your children at home.

Things that might help.

1. Call some home-teaching parents that have home-taught for a few years for some tips.
2. Go outside and walk with your children.
3. Get the water paints out and paint together. (outside if warm)
4. Set a quiet time for everyone at the same time during the day where they spend it in a bedroom or comfortable corner to themselves; playing with toys, reading, crafting because every parent needs to manage anxiety and stress in order to stay strong emotionally.
5.  Check out my “Tips For Parents: Children’s Bedtime Routine”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB7VOF9OaT4
6. Get your sleep because all parents need it to stay strong emotionally.

LAYED OFF

Your mind is filled with financial worries. You are waiting for answers. Paying your rent or mortgage is paramount.

Things that might help.

1.  If you can, take a walk twice a day. Even just two 10-minute walks can relieve stress.
2. Limit your social media to only 2 or 3 x a day
3. Choose only positive messages to add and share on your social media.
4. Look for humour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7fZBoNjqqY
5. Talk to your bank/communicate with your landlord about financial negotiation over rent etc.
6. Limit news to only the morning and watch only once a day.
7. Record every day in a journal what the best part of your day was.
8. Phone and encourage someone that is in a worse situation than yours.

SICK with ILLNESS

1. If you are a person of faith, call your spiritual leader and have them pray for you.
2. Limit your social media to only 2 or 3 x a day
3. Look for humour,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shmRqEPtOFQ
4. Get some fresh air when you can because it raises the spirits and helps you stay strong emotionally.

In these challenging times you might want a coach like me https://www.lifecoachhelps.com/ to help you navigate through some of the frustrating issues or a professional counselor like Inroads Counseling. https://inroadscounselling.com/

I am only a call away.

-Karen Moilliet, March 25, 2020