What to do during the quarantine: Your mental health matters

I want you to know that your mental health matters and if you are feeling off mentally, please let a friend know.  If you do not have someone checking on you and you are trying to manage this alone, reach out to the National Suicide Hotline in the states should you need it. If you do not live in the United States, there are international meet-up groups, virtually, during this time to assist you.  Just look for resources in case you or someone you know needs them.

I am not a doctor, but I want to mention some things that I have been teaching for many years after getting the news that I was diagnosed with my 7th invisible disease.  I went through ALL of the emotions.  Shock.  Grief.  Anger.  Why me?  Then finally acceptance came MUCH later.  The problem is, we don’t have that kind of time here to deal with that because it hit all of us at once.  We are all being battered with news daily, and our families, loved ones, and children might need us during this time.  So on a global scale, we are all seeing the same things and facing things many of us have not seen before.  My 91 year old grandfather was telling me some of the things he has lived through and I respect the knowledge he has.  Some of us right now are being called on to become fast learners, so let me try ti help you with that today.

I have already lost income.  How about you?  That worry happened last week as I was told by two major clients that I had to be put on “hold”.  I am not getting paid through my regular source of income.  Is this you as well?  First, contact all your credit cards.  Use the words COVID-19 and loss of income when you email.  Check out the unemployment options you might have.  Just make a checklist, and do one thing each day to help yourself in this area and repeat that it is going to be okay, because you are NOT alone and it will be okay in the end.  I believe that and I am just making my lists and calling, emailing, etc, where I spend money or owe money or people I pay.

I have to have a routine that works.  Everyone and their mom now works at home (I am the mom).  I set up my husband’s office in the other room.  I can hear him on his important calls, he can hear me unless I close the door, but before that he was working in the kitchen…which wasn’t working.  My kids have had to go online for their school, and the eldest is learning her freshman year at a private (she got a scholarship or couldn’t go there) college that I was so happy to see her get in.  I understand this is not the way she wanted to learn.  I had one minute to be sad, and let her know that for one minute I was sad, but that we had to go into now what mode and work to make the best of it.  Because of who I am, I had a gut feeling I needed to tell her to pack as much as possible and she luckily did.  Down to the plants.  She can’t go back and get her stuff now until possibly June.  She only left bedding, rug, little fridge and shoes she didn’t need, and other things not essential.  It was hard.  It was sad.  But I have to move on for her and we are.  High school kid = happy to be home.  Soo that’s okay.

Allow yourself time to be sad for a day or two.  We just can’t stay there.  I imagine after this is all over it will be like the movie Die Hard or something where our adrenaline will be like “What??  We can calm down now??”  So because of that, my routine is as follows:

• Meditate as I wake up.  Eyes still closed.  Gratitude for the day.
• Coffee and more present meditation for at least a few minutes.
• Exercise. Yoga and a combo of new things.  I bought a rebounder trampoline because I read about the benefits.  It is very good for you and helps your lymphatic drainage which might sound funny, but it’s important.  Here is the thing I bought. << Takes you to my Amazon link.
• Work on my own business.  << Hey, I run a business.  I started it when I got sick in 2013.  I run Vitalize You Wellness, which runs my platform over here.  << ALL online. My courses are designed to help people who had to stay home due to being immune compromised, introvert, anxiety or anything of the like.  I help others improve the relationship with their thoughts and all my online products were designed to do that.
• Lunch/outside/me time << brain break
• Then wrap up everything from my “work” by 4p.m.
• Family dinner matters to us (no phones)
• Family movie night and on weekends, family outside/chores

I also check-in with my Club and do free live videos for people to watch so they know who I am and what the heck I do.  That can be found here.  <<

We can remain closer through this and learn in new ways.  I am teaching my Club this week through Zoom and many of them haven’t done that before, but for me, I learned through Zoom with other business partners and now want to help my Club learn that as well.  I am doing my best to help my people through this, and I am staying as mentally present as I can.

Take this time to be as kind as you can.  If you don’t feel kind, put on something happy and watch an old favorite show and just chill out.  UNplug.  Turn off notifications for Debbie Downers and just mentally be aware of what is draining your energy at this time.  If you too have lost income, you are not alone.  If you have lost connection with people, please feel free to subscribe to my free resources, the videos on the Facebook page, the blog here and the newsletters.  We are in this together.  It is critical that we find our tribe, and don’t push people away as we all need laughter, love and healing to get through this.

• Ways to Support Yourself (another new article during this time)
• Immune System (not if you have COVID-19, but just in general during this time)

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