I'm back with another Self Care During Crisis Tip, to help see you through this tragic time of pandemic.
This Self Care Tip, is about DOING LESS! Which, if you have seen the barrage of DO ALL THE THINGS with all your free time posts... you may very well be sighing with relief, right now!
Some of you may indeed have more time on your hands than ever, however it's not always so welcomed because for you, it may be because you have been furloughed, had your hours and salary reduced, lost your job completely, or are seeing your business struggle to make ends meet.
While some of you, may still be working very much full time from home, AND somehow attempting to morph into a teach, as each day the demanding curriculum comes online, and your kids are home all. damn. day. every. day.
We are all worrying about our health, family, friends, jobs, money...
And, for many of you, what little or lots of extra time you do have, thanks to lock down and Covid 19, anxiety has taken root and given birth to some new coping mechanisms (and not so new ones) that are time sucking their way through our days and nights. We think these coping mechanisms will ease the anxiety, however we all know, sooner than later, they make us feel even worse, and increase our anxiety.
So, today all me to offer you some guidance in the ninja self care of... SETTING LIMITS!
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Set limits...
On Social media!
Corona virus News!
Corona Virus conversations!
Corona virus memes!
On Television
On wearing pajamas! 🤭 (oh, yeah I'm going there!)
On being indoors 24/7!
On food!
On all that 'add to cart' online shopping!
On how many times you’re allowed to go to the fridge in an hour! 😳
On days filled with FaceTime calls!
On Panicking about the future!
On worry about money!
On boredom!
On spending time in the same room as your partner!
On how long you’re going to swipe away at online dating!
On how much your kids really REALLY need to learn during this topsy turvy time in our history!
ON PERFECTIONISM! That frantic dance of trying to do all the things perfectly, so no one sees how scared you are, and you can feel some sense of control in a out of control situation.
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
This ain't your bath bomb self care... THIS IS CARING FOR YOUR MENTAL, PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH!
All of your personal situations are different during this crisis, and yet we are all experiencing it as a collective whole, at once, together.
You know, darling , what items on the above list, have your name written all over it. And, you know the ones I haven’t even thought to include.
he ways we try to cope with anxiety, that unfortunately cause harm to ourselves, and in the end, heighten our anxieties. We need to care for ourselves, more than every right now. And that may mean doing LESS of some things, in order to accomplish just that.
I've been doing this self care myself, and it's transformed my experience during this tough time.
First up on my own SETTING LIMITS LIST... access to news. I check in on my phone in the morning and then try my very best to not do so again, till the 5pm daily briefing.
Next up... Corona Conversations! At first, I need extra talks with family and friends for connection. However I soon realized, that there were certain friends or family members, I need to limit contact with, cause all the corona conversations were making me quite unwell.
Then, my old nemesis... television. See, I am a proper TV junkie without a pandemic, so I had to get on that, fast! Lots o' TV limits for this girl!
I also, had to make sure I got out in the garden or for a walk, every day, rain or shine. While, of course, social distancing, and using limits, as not to abuse this to be out and about beyond the guidance of the experts.
What do YOU need to set some limits around, right now?
Please know...
Its okay to not be okay! These are unprecedented times, that none of us were prepared for AND none of have been through before, so how are we supposed to be okay or getting it right, all the time?!!?
It's okay to be sad, afraid, worried, uncertain, angry... let's set some limits on time spent doing those too, before they consume us whole!