Pandemic Self-Care: 5 Things That Help During The Pandemic
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We’re living through a global pandemic and for most people there have been tumultuous ups and downs, sometimes within a single day. We were bowled over by the arrival of something we had no choice or control over and forced to suddenly change many of the ways we do things. At the same time, we had to stop doing many of the things that help us through times of stress, like meeting with friends and family, going to the movies, the gym, concerts… you know the list by now.
The thing is, adapting isn’t just something you can do once and be done with. It’s an ever-changing, energy-draining process that we have had to constantly modify as we learned more about the Coronavirus and its transmission. We’ve had to contend with waves of emotional turmoil as we found our own best way to deal with the health risks and with the pressure to handle so many things at once with no instruction manual, no formal training and often no days off or relief in sight.
Photo sourced from CANVA
One way to facilitate our journey down this path is to give ourselves credit for just managing so much on a day to day basis. Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed, like we’ll never catch up or get it all done. We forget how much we actually do accomplish and focus on what isn’t done.
I took up the habit of writing a quick list at bedtime of what I achieved each day, racking up a list of mini-wins that add up to getting a whole bunch of stuff done! I included goals I’d reached or problems I’d found solutions to, but also all those little things that took up so much more time than usual during the early stages of the pandemic, while sapping energy and taking an emotional toll - disinfecting everything, endless loads of laundry, hand-washing, waiting in the socially-distanced line to get into the grocery store, sanitizing the groceries at home (that took hours!), shopping online for masks, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies.
Photo sourced from CANVA
My list of mini-achievements was one thing I did during my adaptation to COVID life that I think I can add to what I call my pandemic self-care regime. What else is part of that regime? We didn’t necessarily sit down last March and write out “pandemic self-care routine 2020/21” (we thought it would be three weeks!) but we’ve all had to piece something together just to carry on and get through the pandemic or at least the day.
Here’s what’s getting me through.
MY PANDEMIC SELF-CARE REGIME
1) IT’S STILL OK TO BE LESS PRODUCTIVE
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we immediately grasped that we were living through times of unprecedented stress and uncertainty and gradually came to understand that it was unrealistic to try to keep up with the workload we managed pre-pandemic. Nearly every facet of modern life was upended and many people found it was harder and harder to get things done. Our capacity to focus and concentrate took a hit and we felt new pressures at an already stressful time.
Some have had too much time on their hands following loss of work, others have continued to put in a full day’s work, working from home, while simultaneously helping their children get through the school day at several grade levels. Still others have had to continue going into work, facing the constant threat of exposure to the virus and the possibility of bringing the virus into their own homes and infecting their loved ones.
We’ve been at this for over a year now and our powers of resilience have been repeatedly tested. With the numbers of coronavirus cases on a wild roller coaster ride, schools, businesses, cultural and sports venues have been re-opened one day only to be closed down the next. While we have learned to handle so much, many people are now facing burnout from the many months of constant adjustment, solution-seeking, adapting and fixing.
“We feel the world has changed, and it has. We know this is temporary, but it doesn’t feel that way, and we realize things will be different… We’re feeling that loss of safety.”
All of these efforts are taxing on our finite sources of energy and it’s important to acknowledge how much we’re still coping with on an ongoing basis. We mustn’t feel like we should just be able to get on with it, that it’s business as usual. No, it's not. We continue to deal with many unknowns while processing feelings of sadness, loss, change and lack of control. There is a reason we may “still” be feeling less productive and we need to give ourselves permission to take it easy.
The pandemic is not over and we now have to cope with an increasing belief that the pandemic should damn well be over by now, we’re drawn to that twinkle of hope at the end of the tunnel and yet we still must behave and take the same precautions we have been responsibly engaging in for over a year now. We have to wrap our heads around that fun fact and realize we’re not quite done adjusting.
Mental health therapist, Ashley McGirt, suggests that we make joy and self-care a priority, appreciate the little things.
“It sounds selfish on the outside but it is self preservation. The first rule on the plane is to put on your oxygen mask in the event of an emergency prior to helping others. We are in a global emergency so it’s important to find ways to put your mask on first, in more ways than one.”
We need to let go of any pressure we feel to use this time productively. It’s important to slow down and rest, recharge our batteries, replenish our energy levels. We need to continue to find ways to reduce the demands on our time, to reduce the mental and physical workload. Take some things off your everyday task list, some things just don’t need to be done and, most importantly, you can be ok with that.
2) PANDEMIC WATCH LIST: 7 OF MY FAVORITE BINGES
Ok, so we’ve established that being less productive and checking in to be sure you’re fine with it are healthy parts of a pandemic self-care routine and I for one am always happy to erase some things from my to do list.
I have always enjoyed the routine of watching some of the late night comedy shows - Stephen, Trevor, Seth, Sam B, John O, the Jimmies and others but at times, particularly during the early phases of the pandemic, the comedians were overwhelmed with COVID news and their shows became almost as stressful as watching the constant stream of terrifying news.
I found that disappearing into the diverse worlds of televised (streamed) fiction was just the ticket to take my mind off of the alarming headlines and find some semblance of calm - following funny or dramatic stories, spending time in a variety of places, seeing depictions of time periods from my past I was nostalgic about or periods which I had not experienced but liked to be transported to and fantasize about.
I have subscriptions to two streaming services: Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. There are other streaming services that offer alluring programming that I might eventually be compelled to invest in but have not chosen any yet. For the time being my kids and I have found plenty to watch on these two services.
I believe the production, the acting, the compelling and wide variety of stories are of remarkably high quality, a trend which is evident not only for these streaming services but for series on many platforms recently and has been for a few years now.
You can find one of the greatest shows of all time, Golden Globe winner The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime Video. The twists and turns of Miriam Maisel’s burgeoning career in stand-up comedy are hilarious and heart-warming. I watched Season 1 on my own and when my daughter returned home, was more than happy to re-watch the first season and watch seasons 2 and 3 together. We loved it (um, we actually watched it all twice)!
We also shared the sofa enjoying Orphan Black on Amazon Prime Video, which is a Canadian science-fiction thriller originally broadcast in the US on BBC America. I’m going to delete what I wrote about it here because it gives away too much and just copy the IMDb text: A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her. The fabulous actress Tatiana Maslany seamlessly pulls off the show’s tricky plot line. Enough said! You should definitely check it out!
Originally on the FX television network, I was able to watch The Americans on Amazon Prime Video. The series is set in the Cold-War Reagan era of the 1980s, bringing back my memories of that time period - the house furnishings, fashion, store fronts and cars look exactly like I remember them. The main characters are two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington, DC and the series follows the complicated personal and professional evolution of the couple.
Now let’s take a look at my favorite programming on Netflix. On this service you’ll find both shows created and produced by Netflix and others that were made by other networks and have been taken on by Netflix.
A good example of the latter was NBC’s The Office. We (my son, my daughter and I) watched all nine seasons of this series, which wasn’t available to me when it first ran from 2005 to 2013, and I feel so much more in tune with a set of modern US cultural references now that I’ve finally seen it. I had watched the original BBC series which the US adaptation is based on about 20 years ago and I joined the millions of viewers who contributed to the well-deserved surge in popularity the American version enjoyed during the dark days of the pandemic.
The list could go on but here are some of my other Netflix favorites:
How to Get Away with Murder
American Vandal
Dear White People
Grace and Frankie
Self-Made
Umbrella Academy
AJ and The Queen
The Crown
I’m also a pretty big fan of documentaries. Here are some of the ones I caught:
13th
The Pharmacist
100 Humans
Hip Hop Evolution
Patriot Act
Tiger King
Oops, that’s not all, far from it actually. I spent many more hours in front of the tube, watching, dreaming, escaping, saving my sanity and also creating shared memories of the shows I watched with fellow confined family members. We love to look back and remember our favorite scenes, and we have the terribly obnoxious habit of quoting our favorite lines when we’re reminded of something during a conversation, which happens surprisingly often!
3) WALKS
I’m sure other TV lovers out there will agree with me that our favorite shows provide a nerve-calming distraction from the constant barrage of alarming news and personal worries.
At the same time we know that it’s not ideal for our minds or our bodies to spend 24 hours a day curled up on the sofa with our eyes glued to the screen. As my mom used to tell us “You’ll get square eyes if you keep sitting in front of that TV!”
It’s essential to get out of the house in ways that are safe for you.
My kids enjoying the outdoors - it’s a beautiful thing!
The benefits of walking as exercise have long been known - it’s good for cardio-vascular health, it’s easy on the joints and it’s good for the internal clock to get out of doors.
“Surveys indicate the number of Americans walking for exercise has increased substantially during the pandemic.”
As an added benefit during the pandemic, it has been one of the few possible ways to get away from the stale air of the confines of the four walls we’ve been stuck in for so many months. Getting outside and taking a stroll or a vigorous hike can be better than the treadmill for lowering stress and for feeling uplifted.
We have come to appreciate the outside world even more and (as the pandemic and lockdowns dragged on) enjoyed experiencing the changing seasons throughout the year. The 2020 Alsatian springtime was absolutely and undeniably gorgeous. It was quiet outside, sometimes pleasantly so, sometimes disturbingly so. With the one hour time limit during the phase one lockdown, we felt that taking a walk for that full one hour (and ten minutes - rebels!) was something we could claim for ourselves. And, in these early stages of adjusting to the reality of the pandemic, we felt oddly self-satisfied when we reached our gate at the end of our long walks.
Just a few snaps from our many walks in the beautiful Spring 2020 weather in Strasbourg!
Walking is an extremely simple and inexpensive form of exercise, it doesn’t require any sort of equipment apart from a pair of comfortable shoes, can be done anywhere and requires very little prep time. Plus it helps you stay in shape and maintain cardiovascular health.
We were enthralled with the beauty of our neighborhood in Strasbourg, and, as the year 2020 unfolded and we made a transcontinental move, we continued to be enraptured with the discovery of many new neighborhoods.
Since our arrival in Athens, OH in August 2020, we’ve seen the seasons change - each more stunning than the last (click through the gallery to enjoy our nearby park change colors!)
4) YOGA and other YouTube exercise videos
I was living in Strasbourg when the pandemic hit and a lockdown was declared on March 17, 2020. During the first three-month period we were only allowed to leave our homes for an hour a day. Since I was no longer going in to work that made for oodles of hours at home per day. I started doing more yoga videos on YouTube and resuscitated some of my old exercise DVDs. As the months wore on, I discovered more fun YouTube videos and had the pleasure of being accompanied by my daughter Ally after her return from the US in April.
You might already know I love Yoga With Adriene! We chose from her lists and categories of videos, selecting them based on the length we were looking to do or the type of movement or body part we wanted to target, ie: if we needed to get the juices flowing with a sun salutations flow or do a full body stretch.
Kylah loves to join us during our yoga sessions
Sometimes she doesn’t leave much room for the rest of us!
When we felt like bouncing around a bit more, we turned to Popsugar, a channel which has a multitude of videos of lengths varying from 15 minutes to about an hour. And so many styles to choose from! We found our favorites because they suit us personally but I’m sure you’ll find some that fit your style, level and needs. (Links to some of those faves: Hip-Hop Tabata, Hip-Hop Fit Michael Peele, Caribbean Dance Workout, Island Vibes, Old School Grooves)
We really got a kick out of doing Joseph Corella Musical Theater dance videos. What a fabulous idea! He has a playful fitness video for just about every MT piece you can think of, varying in length and style. We had just watched Waitress and were tickled to do the dancy exercise routine to the hit music from it. We also had fun with some classics like Rent and Chicago, to name a few. These are some of the ones we tried out and had a blast doing: The Waitress, Rent, Chicago, Mean Girls.
If we were just in the mood to work on strength, we would turn to Fitness Blender where we selected short 10 minute videos (eg: Abs and obliques, Tank-top arms!)
5) DRY JANUARY
Dry January was first promoted in the UK in 2013 but by now most Americans have heard about it, with many, after initially thinking “silly Brits,” deciding to hop on board and give it an experimental go. The idea is to give yourself a one-month hiatus from alcohol consumption and stand back and observe what happens.
“Kicking off the new year by cutting out alcohol for an entire month (Dry January) is a health trend more people are trying each year”
The month of January was originally chosen because people tend to over-indulge during the end-of-year holidays, over a period of several weeks or even months if you get going at Thanksgiving in late November in the US. So, that, along with the fatigue brought on by the cold, dark winter months, can take a toll on our systems, bringing down energy levels and decreasing overall wellness as the body expends energy to eliminate the drink.
Alcohol has been used as a popular mechanism for coping with the stress of the pandemic but it can be eye-opening to break with our habits and see how we feel as a result. What might have begun as a way to temper pandemic anxiety may no longer feel necessary thanks to other adjustments we’ve made in our lives. Drinking can become something one does simply out of boredom or habit, kind of like being on autopilot. It can be a confidence-booster to wrest control of something you feel has a hold over you. Dry January is a way to break out of these self-perpetuating patterns and reassess your relationship to alcohol.
Of the three people living in our household, one, my son, has absolutely no interest in consuming anything alcoholic and quite effortlessly has 12 dry months year after year. My daughter and I, however, do indeed enjoy indulging in the occasional libation.
We happily sipped our way through many months of the pandemic but, during a time of increased stress, not only related to the pandemic but also to a transcontinental move (during, um, a pandemic) we began to feel we emptied the bottle a bit too fast and frequently. We adapted the concept of Dry January to October of 2020, our first experiment with setting an alcohol-free period of a specific length. We managed to breeze through it and we really felt the reset was beneficial for us.
The health benefits we experienced included getting better sleep and feeling more energized which have their own positive effects. As you feel more rested you may use that increased energy level to tackle projects, get outside more and exercise!
“62% said they slept better, about half said they lost weight, and many reported feeling more energetic.”
We adjusted to a more reasonable frequency of toasting to each other’s health but, as the holidays came to a close, were happy to hop on the Dry January bandwagon, knowing we felt it had been beneficial in October and also learning from experience that we’d be able to do it without much trouble. It was so much easier and motivating to make the decision together.
Having a Dry January partner gives you instant support and motivation to reach your goal together. Not only that, it can be fun! Why not take on a new activity together? You’re there to support each other, to learn something new and get healthier at the same time.
One of our favorite lines from Parks and Recreation (link to YouTube video this clip is taken from)
You can make healthy changes that last beyond the first 30 days of the year. We’d been doing some yoga on and off for several years, but we decided to begin an everyday practice throughout the month of January and we kept going! We haven’t missed a day in the last three months!
A 2018 study from the UK found that Dry January affected how much people drank for months afterward, drinking on fewer occasions and consuming less each time. Dry January can be a motivation for modifying drinking patterns after the 30 day period and some even kick alcohol for good!
“If you go into complete abstinence and you feel better and you’ve lost weight and you’re exercising more and you’re sleeping better — I think that’s a message that your body is telling you, and I think we need to listen to the message!”
This may be an extreme outcome and not what all people partaking in Dry January are interested in. Simply having a set period of abstinence, when you know you can feel the companionship of many people around the world undertaking the same experiment, can be an excellent way to reevaluate your relationship with alcohol and get some perspective on how alcohol makes you feel. You may be surprised at how great you feel and how it saves you money and improves your life in so many ways!
Watch this space for more pandemic self-care tips as the situation evolves, vaccines continue to roll out and we get ready for the next phase!
And don’t forget to share your best pandemic self-care tips in the comments below!
REFERENCES
1) Stop Trying To Be Productive, by Taylor Lorenz, published April 1, 2020, updated July 12, 2020
2) Let Yourself Be Unproductive, At Least For A Little While, by Peter Bregman, June 26, 2020
4) That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief, by Scott Berinato, March 23, 2020
5) Dry January: The Benefits of Taking a Break From Alcohol, by Allison Aubrey, January 6, 2020
6) Say “Cheers!” to Dry January with These 8 Easy Tips, by Gigen Mammoser, January 2, 2020
7) Here’s What Can Happen To Your Body When You Cut Out Alcohol, by Maria Masters, January 21, 2020
10) The Calming Power of a Simple Walk During a Pandemic, by Erin Sagen, April 16, 2020
11) Walking Through This Pandemic, by Howard Chang, October 2, 2020