We are all facing and dealing w/ changes to the norms we knew and the stress in our own ways. Overall, I wouldn’t say that any one particular way of “dealing” with it, is wrong.
Those who are expecting, just delivered, facing cancelled weddings, stressing over lost income, dealing w/ the feelings of being stuck at home & feeling guilty to feeling negatively when they are healthy.
The way I see it, we are all facing different stressors and ways of dealing with them.
*It’s ok to be upset that the wedding you have dreamt of forever & planned for years was cancelled.
*It’s ok to feel robbed of sharing your pregnancy experience with loved ones.
*It’s ok to feel anxious & overwhelmed with the homeschooling.
*It’s ok to feel irritable because you need a few minutes of alone time.
*It’s ok not be super productive EVERY SINGLE DAY.
*It’s ok not to learn a new skill during this time.
*It’s ok to be scared of the uncertainty.
IT’S ALL OKAY!!!!!
Yes, be thankful that you’re HOME & SAFE, but know that it’s okay to FEEL.
On the other hand, don’t just sit in that feeling. Notice what you can do differently to help YOURSELF be your best YOU through it all.
*When feeling low, remind yourself of the things that you have going well for yourself.
*Create a new routine and do your best to holding to some normalcy.
*Plan things to look forward to and disconnect to enjoy them to the fullest when the time comes.
For myself:
1- I’ve never been keen to mainstream news due to the word twisting & over exaggerating delivery (my opinion), but avoiding it all together, has helped keep the fear aspect at bay for me.
2- I’ve been somewhat distant from social media. Don’t get me wrong, I love keeping in contact with friends, but I personally can’t deal with my entire feed being COVID related every single day. It’s just not good for me mentally.
3- Joe & I have scheduled a date night each week after the little one’s asleep for some adult time and to watch whatever WE want.
4- We’ve taken 3 short drives to get out of our small NYC apartment. It is something exciting for us to look forward to.
5- We schedule Zoom calls with friends to hang out & catch up over wine. The face to face interaction with others is so refreshing.
These are just a few of my little changes, but they’ve made a huge impact.
How have you been coping with the Corona virus epidemic?
