5 Ways I’m Staying Sane During the Pandemic – Part I

I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. This is a strange time we live in, and we require new coping mechanisms.

Since I work from home, my adjustment probably isn’t as great as yours might be. Still, not being able to hop in my car and go to the bookstore/office supply store/hairdresser, etc. is bizarre. In an eerie way, for me, knowing I can’t do these things is worse than not being able to do them.

I knew early on that I would need some structure—I thrive on structure—to carry me through. Here are some ways I am coping.

• Make my bed every day. Okay, I always do this anyway, but I know that I can quickly slide into sloth if I don’t. My late sister Joyce once said she had two speeds: Fast Forward and Stop. Ditto. And when I Stop, sloth sets in…and depression.

As Admiral William H. McRaven, Navy SEAL, said,

Or as New York Times journalist Charles Duhrigg says in his book The Power of Habit,

• Meditate. I know, I know. Easy for me to say, but much harder to do. Number one – monkey brain. Our brains jump around, leaping from thought to thought and our inner peace flies out the window. Also, it’s hard to sit in silence while all my fear and dread shrieks at me. That’s why guided meditation works for me right now.

Currently Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey are offering a free 21-day meditation on Hope. Interestingly, they had recorded this series before the you-know-what hit the fan. So when I listened to Day 1, the examples they gave of difficult life issues paled by comparison to what we’re living with now. But the meditation is still very effective and I intend to use it every day. I have listened to previous meditation series with them, and usually they allow you five days to catch up if you miss one, but this time they are leaving the 21 days open until May. Here is the link: https://chopracentermeditation.com/

• Projects. I have my writing, so I will Stay Calm and Write On. But I will need other projects to work on as well. I talked with my daughter-in-law Rachel the other night and told her I was going to try crocheting again—As you can see, I am not good at it at all LOL 

She loves to crochet and so does my daughter Kate. So Rachel suggested we FaceTime for a “Stitch and Bitch.” That alone is worth taking up crocheting again.

• Take walks. Rich and I have walked every day since this started. The physical benefits are obvious, but the psychological benefits are enormous. Even on cold, blustery days, getting outside in the fresh air feels so good. In Michigan we measure amounts of sunshine in minutes in the winter (I’m not exaggerating), so if the sun is out it’s an extra bonus. And you don’t have to limit it to one walk a day. It’s free. Take as many walks as you like.

• Gratitude. What? Yes. Every night I count at least ten blessings for the day. Sometimes they’re small like “I’m grateful for my perfectly cooked grilled cheese sandwich at lunch today.” And always, “I’m grateful for our family’s health.” If you haven’t tried gratitude, try it even if you find it difficult. Gratitude grows on you and gets much easier.

So, these are some of the ways I’m coping with our new reality. I’ll discuss more in Part 2.

I’d love to hear what you are doing. Leave me your coping ideas in the comments.