- Create intentional & consistent outlets for processing your feelings
Last year (and this one), has brought challenges that we never faced before, but also, gave space for a greater sense of community, thoughtfulness and connection. The long term impacts of COVID-19 are a reality, and while we cannot control the fact that we are impacted, we can be proactive about creating intentional and consistent outlets for processing our feelings. I recommend doing this in a holistic way. Acknowledging the depths of challenges is intimating and hard, but outlets give us the very keys we need to feel empowered to manage and effectively navigate the challenges at hand. So make intentional time with your partner, family and friends to talk about it weekly (or daily), but also create boundaries around it. Seeking counseling or coaching can also be a powerful tool to find support and foster deeper personal space for moving through the toughest parts of the pandemic emotionally and psychologically.
- Tune into your body daily through exercise
We all know the long-standing benefits of exercise on our mental, physical and psychological health—and while the fatigue of COVID-19 has been exhausting universally, it is now more important than ever to support our mental and physical well being by processing the stress, tension and restlessness in the body. Whether you’re stuck behind the desk 12 hours a day, or find yourself in active work, make a commitment to even 20-30 of movement a day can be more of the sum of its parts. Consider it maintenance for your psychological health as well right now.
- Get creative – journal, draw and tune in!
Creativity can be seen as a wellness practice. Giving ourselves many varied outlets for expressing and working through our emotions of frustration, anxiety, guilt and guilt to name a few—can be vital for processing our emotions in a healthy and regulated way. Journaling is a great outlet for working through difficult emotions and externalizing feelings, without judgment but with intention. Whether you consider yourself creative by nature, or it’s something you want to lean into more, consider creativity more important now than ever. It’s also a powerful way to connect with your household and a chance to welcome in new thoughts through new practices.
- Be nice – it makes all the difference in the world
Kindness truly changes our lives and those of the people around us. Not only does being kind allow us to feel a deeper sense of connection and reduce our sense of isolation, it helps us keep perspective as well. Be intentional about sharing warmth and positivity. Even if you can’t show your smile from underneath your mask, give yourself permission to greet people you pass on a walk with a warm “hello.” Even the smallest gestures of kindness can have a great impact on our general mood throughout the day.
- Start a Gratitude Practice
Cultivating a gratitude practice can create a foundation of positivity in your life. Whether you want to start by reflecting every evening on what you’re grateful for, or by committing to saying and doing more through actions to invest in gratitude, our approach to this can be as varied and unique as each of us are. Exercisesfor gratitude can help give you structure if you need it and if you feel more inclined to tune in throughout the day, create your own approach. There is no right way to do this, but taking inventory of all we are grateful is instrumental to our well-being.
Practice patience with yourself with all of these steps. Though simple, they are powerful ways that we can be intentional about safe and healthy outlets for ourselves and ultimately, supporting ourselves to be our best, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.