Uncertainty. This is the word of the day for young adults, teens and parents as Coronavirus makes its way to the U.S. Uncertainty fuels anxiety as all of the "What Ifs" start storming our minds.
Dealing with the stress of actually having the virus is different than dealing with the anxiety, or fear, of what is going to happen to our country as this novel virus begins to spread. It is easy to feel like nothing is in our control; however, there are many things that we can control as we hunker down and try to keep the spread of this virus at a minimum. To help raise your awareness about the things you can control in your life right now, check out the ideas below.
You can control how much you embrace or limit those things that cause you worry, such as listening to the news, podcasts, and reading Facebook posts about Coronavirus. When you consume news about the virus, do you find that your level of worry increases or decreases? Worry is unproductive, as it doesn't change anything, and it makes you feel bad. Spending 30 minutes per day catching up on social media and news can help decrease the amount of time you spend worrying, and increase the amount of time you spend doing productive and enjoyable things with those around you.
You can control how you choose to implement social distancing. Are you cooped up inside your house all day, are you spending some of your time outside getting some fresh air, are you using the phone/social media to stay in touch with others so you don't feel so isolated?
You can control how you choose to spend your time during social distancing including:
Finding creative ways to keep in touch with friends and family.
Discovering new ways to exercise at home (there are many YouTube videos for yoga, stretching, aerobics, and other home workouts). Exercising is one way to boost your mood when you are at home and feeling isolated from others.
Choosing a project on your list of things to do and tackling it in the upcoming weeks.
Choosing to learn something new and diving in with YouTube videos or other online learning tools.
Spending time teaching your older kids some of those life skills we never seem to have time to teach (cooking, sewing on a button or hemming a pair of pants, auto mechanics, creating a budget, online banking, preparing your taxes, creating a website, etc.)
Helping others, such as reaching out to elderly neighbors via text to make sure they are doing ok.
Journaling about this very unique time in history.
Redecorating or painting your room a new color.
Binge watching your favorite TV series.
Playing all the board games you own.
Learning new card games.
The list is endless.......
Comments