It is important, however, to avoid going into a place of fear, and instead to do what we can to feel empowered.
Even with this pandemic, not everyone will get sick. Our best defense is a strong immune system. Now is the time to prepare your body so that it can adequately defend itself. This means eating nutritiously, exercising and getting enough sleep.
Remember that stress and tension compromise the immune system, so do your best to keep these at a minimum. Do not spend hours watching every news show. Go online to check on headlines and advisories if you want information. We all know about hand washing, social distance, and self-isolation.
At this point, what difference would it make to your life if you chose not to watch news for a couple of weeks? You wouldn’t do anything differently than what you should be doing now.
As humans in a time of crisis we feel a need to talk to each other about what is going on. However, these conversations can raise our stress level. In your family or relationship, you could decide to only discuss it once a day for a short period of time that is not just before bed.
It is also helpful, with children, to distract them with positive activities, and give them lots of love. I am already hearing stories of parents spending quality fun time with their children that they normally did not have time to do.
See this as a time to do some of those things that you could not do when life was so busy. Get out that book, your paintbrushes, abandoned hobbies, or even talking to those people there just was not time for before all this.
Also, develop a daily practice that counteracts the buildup of stress such as yoga, meditation or listing to my free MP3 download “Releasing Stress.”
Feel a sense of empowerment and positive energy around your health. Imagine your body as a fortress that is strong and impenetrable. Visualize yourself being strong and healthy as the days go forward.
Picture the time when life will go back to normal. This is so better than going into a place of fear about worst case scenarios.
If this pandemic makes us all a little more health conscious, that can only be a good thing. Don’t let this hang over you like a dark cloud. Instead, focus on living, loving, laughing, and taking good care of yourself.
Gwen Randall-Young is an author and award-winning psychologist. For permission to reprint this article, or to obtain books, CDs or MP3s, visit www.gwen.ca. Follow Gwen on Facebook for daily inspiration.
-Gwen Randall‑Young is an author and award‑winning Psychotherapist. To obtain books, cds or MP3’s, visit www.gwen.ca
