Survival Strategies
I’m compiling a list of practical, and whimsical, tidbits for getting through this crazy time.
- Brush your teeth
- Put clothes on
- Create structure for yourself (you have the two things above to put on the list already - See Download Below)
- Go to sleep and get up at the same times daily
- Get outside, even if only to take a walk around the block
- Lower your expectations of yourself. The background anxiety that we all feel will interfere with higher-level cognitive functions
- Stay connected with loved ones by phone and video
- Limit the time you spend reading the news
- Make use of mindfulness techniques
- Watch comedy shows
- Watch one of the belly-laugh movies curated by my patients
- Do the things that give you pleasure
- Do something that you’ve always wanted to do but had no time for
- Remember that, by staying home, you are doing something important
- Reach out if you need me!
Who couldn’t use a belly-laugh movie right now?
Here is a list curated by my patients:
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
- A Fish Called Wanda
- Always Be My Maybe
- Big
- Blazing Saddles
- Bridesmaids
- Britney Runs a Marathon
- Caddyshack
- Fletch
- Game Night
- Get Him to the Greek
- Groundhog Day
- Joe Versus the Volcano
- Meet the Parents
- Midnight Run
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- Moonstruck
- Mrs. Doubtfire
- My Cousin Vinny
- Nacho Libre
- Office Space
- Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
- School of Rock
- Stagecoach (1989)
- Talledega Nights
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin
- The Hangover
- Tootsie
- Trains, Planes and Automobiles
- Wine Country
Don't forget to get outside!
According to Dr. Ming Kuo, a scientist who leads the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, "Contact with nature has been tied to health in a plenitude of studies. Time spent in and around tree-lined streets, gardens, parks, and forested and agricultural lands is consistently linked to objective, long-term health outcomes. The less green a person's surroundings, the higher their risk of morbidity and mortality - even when controlling for socioeconomic status and other possible confounding variables. The range of specific health outcomes tied to nature is startling, including depression and anxiety disorder, diabetes mellitus, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), various infectious diseases,cancer, healing from surgery, obesity, birth outcomes, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal complaints, migraines, respiratory disease, and others, reviewed below. Finally, neighborhood greenness has been consistently tied to life expectancy and all-cause mortality."
To read more:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01093/full
Reduce Your Autonomic Nervous System Arousal
We all may be settling into new routines during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating some predictability in daily life and taking control in small ways. Unfortunately for many of us, our autonomic nervous systems haven’t settled down. You may experience that as being on “high alert,” vigilant or restless. Or, you may be having trouble sleeping or concentrating. Regardless of how it’s showing up, your sympathetic nervous system may be working overtime as a result of the brain’s normal effort to keep you safe. We are stuck with this for a while.
There are no ways to eliminate this completely (you’ll need this response if you ever get chased by a lion). However, there are ways to give your brain and body a break: anything that helps you stay in the present moment. The list is endless but includes many mindfulness techniques, such as a body scan meditation (check out the free app Insight Timer on your phone), naming all the colors that you see around you, or listening intently for the sounds around you that you’d typically ignore.
When the struggle is especially challenging, you may find this technique helpful. Create a kit containing objects that are pleasing to all of your five senses. It will take a little work to assemble it, but once accumulated, you’ve got it at the ready. The items must be pleasurable to you, and the choices are endless.
Here’s what to include:
- Smell - Anything that is aromatic, such as herbs, cinnamon stick, cloves, soap, perfume, oils, soil (you never know!), etc.
- Sight - This can include poetry, books, pictures of people you love, photos of your garden, pictures of places you find beautiful, etc.
- Hearing - You might need your phone for this. Think: your favorite songs, recordings of bird calls or other animal sounds, ocean waves, jokes, podcasts, or maybe you like the sound of a ticking clock.
- Touch - Consider including fabrics that you enjoy touching such as velvet, fleece or satin; something you might rub on your skin such as oil or lotion; things you can manipulate such as marbles, etc.
- Taste - Think about gum, hard candy, cough drops, packs of nuts, chocolate (had to put that in),
etc.
The idea is to keep your mind in the moment and to touch your senses in a way that gives you a moment of pleasure or comfort.
If you try this, please let me know how it went for you!
