Staying Sane During This Ever Worsening Pandemic
I know that most of you are itching to get out, have lunch with friends or family, and shop in a store without fear.
But it’s going to be quite some time yet before all of that happens.
We’re near 400,000 US citizens dead in less than a year, and it’s increasing every day. Unfortunately ever more potent strains have been discovered.
So we have to find ways to stay sane while staying at home.
Listen To Music:
I had not listened to music in years until recently. I don’t even turn on the radio in my car because the noise coupled with traffic just makes me feel more anxious.
But on a whim I went to YouTube recently and found piano music, which I was always drawn to. I found musicians I didn’t even know about, but found that their music soothed me.
The melody seems to take hold of me and ease my worries and calm my fears.
Read Books:
Whereas I have always loved a good book, now I have embraced it even more. I spend time perusing the books on Amazon and Good Reads, which I also enjoy doing.
Every night before bedtime I read for at least an hour instead of having the TV on.
Then I either give the books I’ve read to Kasi or donate them to this apartment complex so others can read them.
Plan Your Spring Garden:
This is something I do every year anyway. But now it seems even more important. Gardening in your yard or on your patio is a safe hobby to indulge in and look forward to.
Look through catalogs online, choose which plants or seeds you think you want to plant, and put them into an online cart. There they will stay until you’ve made your final decision.
I plan to start doing that this weekend because it gives me a sense of purpose.
Write Down Your Thoughts:
If you have a journal, write your thoughts and fears down there.
Of course I write everyday. It is an outlet that has always been important to me.
Writing words down seems to cement them, make them more real.
The act of writing has always been therapeutic to me. It gives me a place to put my feelings and rid myself of anxiety.
Cozy Up Your Home:
Naturally your surroundings are of vital importance.
Dig through the closet and bring out decor items you love and find a place for them.
Framed family photos are important to make you feel connected during a time of isolation. Place them where you can walk past them every day.
Move the furniture around and clean up all the dust bunnies underneath, thus killing two birds with one stone. Just changing things up always makes me feel better.
I imagine just the physical work releases serotonin because any type of exercise does that.
Order House Plants:
Did you know you can order house plants online? I didn’t until this whole pandemic thing began. I already had lots of them, so I haven’t had to do that yet.
Woody’s Garden Goods has plants for sale online. I find it fun just looking at their stock. Their prices seem reasonable to me if the plants are already in nice pots. Buying plant pots these days isn’t cheap.
You can even sign up for a monthly subscription box to be delivered to your door at House Plant Box. That might be a fun option because then you have something to look forward to each month.
And of course there’s Amazon. They have live plants as well.
I find that tending to my plants relaxes me.
Exercise:
You can’t go out to a gym, but there are other ways to get plenty of exercise.
Regular exercise can positively impact serotonin levels in your brain. Raising your levels of serotonin boosts your mood and overall sense of well-being.
It can also help improve your appetite and sleep cycles, which are often negatively affected by depression.
Regular exercise also helps balance your body’s level of stress hormones, such as adrenaline. Adrenaline plays a crucial role in your fight-or-flight response, but too much of it can damage your health.
Began A Yoga Regimen:
The practice of yoga melts away all the toxins accumulated in your body from daily stress, tension or anxiety.
Yoga is said to increase resilience, which is the ability of a person to “bounce back” and adapt to stressful or adverse situations.
Individuals with greater resilience tend to recover from illnesses, trauma, and perceived stress quicker.
Benefits Of Meditation:
Meditation is the process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts.
You can use it to increase awareness of yourself and your surroundings. Many people think of it as a way to reduce stress and develop concentration.
People also use the practice to develop other beneficial habits and feelings. Meditation is said to bring about a more positive mood and outlook, self-discipline, healthy sleep patterns, and even increased pain tolerance.
Practice Deep Breathing For Relaxation:
- Sit comfortably in a chair with your feet on the floor or lie down. Place one hand on your stomach, and the other hand over your heart.
- Inhale slowly through your nose until you feel your stomach rise
- Hold your breath for a count to three
- Exhale slowly, feeling your stomach fall
Do Something For Others:
Doing something for someone else always promotes a sense of satisfaction.
Bake banana bread or muffins, wrap them up and put them on a neighbor’s porch. Then call them and tell them you’ve left a little gift out there for them.
It will make you both feel better.
In Conclusion:
This is a time to be good to yourself. People who are isolated tend to become depressed.
Light the candles, put on some soothing music, and those four walls you felt caged by will seem more like a cozy refuge.
The simple act of making my bed every day gives me a sense of satisfaction.
Cook good nutritious food, even if you live alone. Especially if you live alone.
Anxiety and fear can be paralyzing. It’s all about control. You can’t control what’s going on in the world.
But you can control your own environment to a point. Do things that bring you joy and lessens anxiety.
I think I can add reading blogs that bring us joy to the list of things to lift our spirits. I love coming here every day because I always go away feeling better.
These are wonderful ideas to help us get through our lives anytime..entertaining and beautiful things to do. I am living my life. I go shopping, meet friends for lunch..see my daughter and her Family. I am respectful of others and obey the mask rules and social distance..but there are more than one way to look at this pandemic..I encourage folks to live your lives and do not watch just one news station. I look above for guidance and trust in this World. We could get the flu and it could affect any of us at any time in a bad way or whatever other health issues may get us..but do not become a prisoner in your own home..crazy.. I amy get the virus today or tomorrow..but I also may lose my sanity by living in fear and not living my life…..depression is mind and body debilitating…My opinion .. Have a blessed day.. Your apartment is always pretty and cozy, Brenda..
Awesome post today, Brenda! I personally believe staying busy doing whatever brings joy into your day is very important. Doing all the things you mentioned helps keeps us and our minds occupied in some form and makes for a better quality of life. Something really funny happened to me today and I hope you don’t mind that I’m going to share. I have always enjoyed coloring in a coloring book and I have a friend who does, as well. Today she left a coloring book and a box of crayons at my front door with a sweet note. Another friend did something similar a few months ago. I find that when I just want to spend a little time with my thoughts coloring helps me stay focused on all the good in my life.
Thank you for all these wonderful reminders! We need to be gentle with ourselves and others.
A great post. I find it hard to great my head around the number deaths your country has suffered. I am so thankful for where I live, my State in Australia has had 6 deaths and Australia as a whole , I think is sitting just over 900 at the moment. I pray you stay safe over there, and get some peace out of the changes coming soon.
Pets sure get their owners through depression and anxious times. They have routines you can focus on for their needs as they rely on you to care for them. Nurturing others keeps your mind off your own aches and pains. I have been so grateful for good health through this pandemic in spite of losing people we know and seeing others suffer so our hearts break for them. It’s not the worse that will ever happen to us so we find ways through the days with our creative interests and cooking more meals at home which has saved us money and probably calories too!
You are so right Brenda. Isolation does cause depression. I take Vitamin D which helps me. I read , knit, crochet. Talking on the phone to my girlfriends also helps a lot. And the best thing for me is to go out in the parks here and walk in the woods. I miss going to the gym and the indoor pool.
I take good doses of Vitamin D morning and night. My surgeon has me do it for my ankle.
Yes I agree.
I do most of these things just about every day. This morning, I did a yoga practice (I love Yoga with Adriene on youtube – she has a lot of videos, and they’re all free – I cast it to my TV from my phone). I did some journaling and a meditation through the app, Insight Timer. I put a pork butt in the Crockpot and also roasted some veggies. I played around with some decor. I emailed a couple of friends. I played with my kitties, did some housework. My reading time is before bed. until I get sleepy. I rarely have the TV on. Oh – I listened to some music today but I actually listened to upbeat dance music because I danced around while doing my housework. 😉
Melanie, you are an inspiration!
Very good tips. I’m going to try the deep breathing!
I do deep breathing while meditating and it calms me.
I’ll try that too!
All of your ideas are really helpful! You could also add ‘be creative ‘ because your photography is so lovely! xoxo
Oh, I forgot being creative is something we can do! Thanks for the reminder.
Nice post. Really a practical pandemic plan we can all implement in our daily lives. Stay safe!
We have to find a way to get through this and still be halfway sane.
Fabulous ideas!!!!
Always been a reader,my minimalist self loves my kindle and audible!
Stay safe.
Lately I’ve wanted a real book in my hand. I go through stages when I read my Kindle. Reading is a great escape.
I received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine 2 days ago, so grateful, but at the same time, I’m sad that my kids and their spouses are in the age group that won’t get the vaccine for many months, sad that there isn’t even a vaccine available yet for my grandkids, sad that I have extended family and acquaintances who had (thankfully) mild cases of Covid but are still experiencing long term effects from it. sad for the hundreds of thousands of people who have died. Mostly I’m sad for my boss who is on day 25 of being hospitalized with Covid and didn’t get the opportunity to be vaccinated.
I’ll be so glad when I can get mine.
Great ideas. I’ve also picked up some crafts I had let fall by the wayside – knitting and sewing.
I like the burlap shade in the pic with the red flower pot.
I’ve had that lampshade forever. It’s been in my closet, which I nearly killed myself cleaning. Got my granny cart and took loads of things to the dumpster. Some was nice decor and wall paintings and I just leaned it where people could see it.
B~
Excellent post!
I try!
You are a very good writer. I don’t comment often. But, just letting you know I enjoy your posts. Thanks for sharing with us.
Well thank you! Commenting is not obligatory. Thanks for reading!