It’s been a weird time for all of us and the hardest part for most people is dealing with the stress that comes with uncertainty.
While it might feel like the world is falling apart, it’s good to remember that our actions have the potential to change our thoughts and feelings.
In the spirit of staying positive, here are some tips on how to stay sane and healthy during this COVID-19 crisis by focusing on what you can control.
1- Do a Media Detox
Obviously, watching the news is important so you can keep abreast of the situation as it develops. But, watching the news morning, noon and night will only put you into a fearful state.
As a result, your adrenal system will pump immunity-compromising hormones into your body like cortisol, and when your adrenal system is switched on, your immune system is switched off.
So, set yourself a specific time every three days or so, to check in with media sources that you trust. This will give your body and mind a break from anxiety and stress while allowing you to get back into a state of equanimity.
2- Watch Your Nutrition
Emotional eating due to stress is an issue for a lot of people right now. But, what if instead of taking multiple trips to the pantry you tried to watch your behavior around food?
Ask yourself if you’re really hungry or just stress eating. If it’s the latter, then you should definitely consider disrupting that cycle by taking a walk or create another avenue for stress relief.
This will help to distract your mind from the fact that you want more snacks while enabling you to form healthier de-stressing methods like knitting, painting, coloring, or something that you can do with the hands to keep the mind distracted from using food as a coping mechanism.
Also, watch what you eat and make sure you’re consuming the right foods and avoid processed snacks.
Buy organic ingredients where you can, and eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables.
Embrace your ability to cook at home and learn new recipes, and don’t forget to take good quality supplements that’ll help to keep your immune system strong.
3- Create a Routine
If you feel overwhelmed, try, and focus on what you can control, which is your daily routine. Sure, you can get up at any time you like and you don’t have to worry about traffic and deadlines anymore. But that doesn’t mean that you should abandon your routine.
A daily routine gives you purpose and can do wonders to boost your mood. Do activities that make you feel good, things that are pleasurable or rewarding. Call a friend, take a walk, listen to music, read a book, engage a new craft.
Stick to a regular sleep-wake cycle. Don’t be too sedentary during the day. Get outside for at least 15 minutes a day and center your day around positive activities that bring you joy.
4- Stay Active
No matter what age you are or what limitations you have, it’s critical to have a daily exercise routine during this time. It can be as simple as doing daily exercises in your living room or your bedroom using your own body weight. You can do yoga, squats, sit-ups, push-ups, half-squats, jumping jacks, low lunges… the list goes on.
That’ll help to get your blood flowing and your lymphatic system moving so that your body can flush out toxins while releasing positive endorphins. Thirty minutes a day is usually all you need to strengthen your body and clear your mind to keep you calm and centered throughout the day.
5- Meditate Daily
Cultivating a daily meditation practice in the time of COVID-19 is one of the best things you can do for your body and mind. Meditation has been shown to promote feelings of peace, clarity, and calmness. It’s also known for its ability to increase focus and centeredness so that you can tap into the internal wisdom within yourself.
Meditation will help you get through this time and move forward in life with more certainty and compassion, not to mention the physical healing benefits that come from meditating every day, even for as little as 10 minutes at a time.
6- Spend Time Outside Everyday
No matter how stringent the lockdown regulations are in your area, you can still step outside your front door. It’s fine to get out and breathe some fresh air and get energy from the sun’s healing light spectrum.
Just twenty minutes outside does wonders for your mind and your body. Take a walk around the neighborhood or hike for 30 minutes a day if you have trails nearby. Breathing fresh air and getting out into nature will make you feel so much better.
7- Get Away From It All And Get Off The Grid
Another benefit that we can derive from this time is the ability to pause and reflect on our own lives. Maybe you’ve been working a job that’s meaningless to you, going through the motions of a monotonous life. This is a great time to start seriously thinking about living your life on purpose.
Living intentionally looks different for everyone. For you, it might be starting a side hustle or doubling down on a passion project. For someone else, it might be to move off-grid and downsize to a tiny house by the woods or the ocean.
I don’t know about you, but after three months of being cooped up at home, remembering to wear face masks and maintain a 6-foot distance in public, I’m ready to embrace nature and get away from it all, especially after seeing this article on how amazing it is to live off-grid.
If one thing’s for sure during these uncertain times, it’s the importance of keeping your life simple and taking it one day at a time. It just makes it easier for you to focus on what you can control.
The Silver Lining
Since the whole COVID-19 crisis started, we’ve had to slow mass production and halt all travel, which led to less pollution on the earth. As a result, cities that have been filled with smog for years are now experiencing clear blue skies for the first time in decades. Rivers that were polluted by boats now have dolphins swimming in them. It’s almost as if the earth is going through a cleanse and that in itself is a silver lining worth appreciating.
