{"id":1317,"date":"2020-05-01T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T13:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.riverbridgerc.org\/?p=1317"},"modified":"2023-12-03T17:32:20","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T00:32:20","slug":"checking-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.riverbridgerc.org\/es\/2020\/05\/checking-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Checking In"},"content":{"rendered":"

Myself, like many others, are relieved to see the \u201cstay at home\u201d orders starting to get lifted and restaurants and businesses begin to reopen their doors. I’ ve had my fun with Zoom Parties with family and friends and \u201chappy hour\u201d with my neighbors as we shout from across the street, but I’ m ready to to figure out how life will, and maybe forever, be changed as a result of COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our \u201cstay at home\u201d experiences may have been different from each other with the amount of \u201ccontact\u201d we had with the people in our lives. For some, contact was absolute minimal, staying indoors all day and night, only hearing the voice of others through a phone, door, or window, while others it may have decreased slightly by taking less trips to the store and going on more solo hikes and bike rides. Whatever your experience may have been, the majority of us probably experienced varying levels of stress and anxiety about the situation. Whether it was loss of sleep, focus, and\/or emotional control, our nervous system has been put through the wringer, and these feelings or actions are not going to easily dissipate with the reopening of our homes, businesses, and lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you lived through the event itself, witnessed it, were an emergency responder or medical worker, or experienced traumatic stress in the aftermath, there are plenty of ways to calm your nervous system and regain your emotional balance.\u201d Melinda Smith, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.<\/b><\/p>\n

An article titled, <\/span>\u201cHow to Cope with Traumatic Events Like Coronavirus\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Melinda Smith, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.appearing on Helpguide.org provides the following tips to assist you in moving towards a full and healthy recovery through the lasting effects of COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 1: Minimize Media Exposure<\/b><\/p>\n

Constant visual and audio reminders of the numerous negative effects of any traumatic event is not healthy for your mind. These images if watched too much, may turn into nighttime dreams, and a good, healthy sleep is essential for one’ s immunity,<\/span>1<\/span> mind, body, and spirit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 2: Accept Your Feelings<\/b><\/p>\n

It will take time to understand and work through all the effects of a traumatic experience. \u201cAccepting these feelings and allowing yourself to feel what you feel, is necessary for healing.\u201d (Melinda Smith, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.) Consider starting a journal to write down your thoughts and emotions. \u201c<\/span>Writing therapy can help the user to propel their <\/span>personal growth<\/span><\/a>, practice creative expression, and feel a <\/span>sense of empowerment and control<\/b> over the user’ s life\u201d (Center for Journal Therapy, n.d.).<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 3: Challenge Your Sense of Helplessness<\/b>
\n<\/b>If you are able and willing, take action! Donate blood, help a neighbor, volunteer! Did you join in on the \u201cnightly howls\u201d? By howling or just hearing the howls, you could feel strangers, neighbors, friends, connecting with one another across great distances, so powerful and poetic too!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 4: Get Moving!<\/b><\/p>\n

It’ s been long said and proven that exercise increases endorphins. Like Elle Woods once said, \u201cExercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’ t shoot their husbands.\u201d (Legally Blonde). April showers bring May flowers, so now is the time to take in the sunshine, vitamin D, a little walk\/run to enjoy nature’ s beauty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 5: Reach out to Others<\/b><\/p>\n

Like I said earlier, I’ ve enjoyed our Zoom dinners with family and friends, or back porch conversations with neighbors. A \u201cstay at home\u201d or \u201csafer at home\u201d order does not mean to shut people out entirely. Find different ways to make connections. And if you notice others becoming a \u201cshut in\u201d reach out to them, something else may be going on that needs addressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip 6: Make Stress Reduction a Priority<\/b><\/p>\n

I took part in a recent training \u201cCultivating Personal Resilience in Uncertain Times\u201d and I’ d like to share with you a \u201cgrounding exercise\u201d using your five senses to help put yourself at ease.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n