The thought, let alone the words, we never imagined are, “We’re living during a pandemic.” Please don’t panic, even though you want to. Don’t be scared, even though you feel you have the right. Many of us have lived through a pandemic, the 2009 H1N1 swine flu. But the current novel COVID-19 virus is a much different experience. Well, that’s probably an understatement.
It doesn’t mean we have to stay stressed or risk our health to de-stress and relax. We can take 5 to 10 minutes to cope with our stress. Or even take more than 10 minutes if you have the circumstances that allow it. Not to say you have nothing to do… or maybe you don’t. And there are quite a few who are truly struggling just to survive financially. 5 minutes of stress management can help to fortify you in your endeavors.
Many have already tried every new diy project, recipe and game being promoted out there on social media and the web. So let’s try a different approach. An approach that doesn’t require spending money or only a very little. Or a lot if it you want. We will learn two approaches:
- Taking Mini Coping Breaks (Mini can be 5 minutes or an hour. Your interpretation.)
- Change your Perspective (How you view things makes a big difference. Not so much “the glass is half full or half empty” but rather do I need a microscope or a telescope.)
MINI COPING BREAKS
Letting your mind and yourself take a break and focus on a positive activity in the present allows you to switch gears for a moment. Because during that time you are not worrying about the future or the past, but you are engaged in the here and now. How does that help? When you are doing something you truly love or enjoy, it feels like nothing and no one can touch you. Especially when you engage your senses and fully immerse yourself in it. Granted, some of the things we truly love might not be in our ideal way of experiencing it right now…but they are there. Own it, live it, love it. It might take a bit of practice but if you view it the right way (you can scroll down to Change Your Perspective now or stay here and continue this line of thought. I won’t judge…just our little secret) you may have a new experience, skill or bragging rights to add to your positive life experiences. And right now we need all of the positive life experiences we can get.
What can you do for your coping break?
Do something good for yourself
Doing something for yourself always feels good. And many of us just don’t take time to do it very often. A 5 minute or more break can truly do wonders. So go ahead take a little hike or walk in nature. (See Using Nature for more tips.) Exercise doing something you enjoy. Or take some time to stretch. (Those tips are coming in a later post.)
Do a mini spa with a bath, or a facial mask (you can get a bunch at Amazon for a great price), or do a manicure or pedicure, Try a new look for your beard or use a new grooming product.
Take a virtual museum tour. And as you tour you can snack on food, have some wine or dress up from that museum’s home country. It’s what you probably would have done if you had been there. Except you have the advantage of being able to eat while online touring. Something prohibited at most museums in person.
Do something just for yourself. Coffee. Wine. Or you can make it an online experience with a loved one. Savor it, experience the moment, breathe and enjoy this time. Add some music or nature sounds. Light some candles. You deserve and probably really need to take this time to relax.
Fun Competitions or Collaborations
Have fun being inside or make use of any yards you may have, no matter the size, be they front, back or side yards. Put together your favorite band’s songs and host a concert for yourself the way you would like it done. You can use YouTube or prearrange the songs in an order that makes you happy. Make yourself an honorary band member and perform with them. Hey, who’s to know? And if someone isn’t in agreement with you on this one, make them an honorary member too and agree to give them their own solo performance during your concert.
If your neighbors are also your friends or at least you get along well with them. Have fun competitions with them. (But please make sure you are in compliance with all laws and ordinances. Try battle of the yards or apartments in your own yard or apartment. Take a video and share it with each other online.) Some ideas for these competitions can be that concert, who can perform their favorite singer or band the best. Who can draw or paint the best. Who can outlast the other in push ups, jumping jacks, hand stands or other feats of your choice. Don’t really have neighbors or none worthy? Then you can Zoom with your friends or co-workers or Facetime with your bff or family member. There are plenty of plays by Shakespeare to perform that will last until the end of the year or into the next. Best of all it doesn’t matter if you have acting skills or not, because you can come up with a Worst Performance Award to honor that person that made it even more fun. These don’t have to be a big deal because you can compete for only 5-10 minutes. A deadline definitely helps to keep you focused on the moment.
Learn a new skill or make gifts for family and friends
Just think about some of those things you’ve always wanted to do or learn. Maybe another language. A specific course. Most are all online and some are now free. Just taking a little time in your day doing something you didn’t have the “time” to do before gives you a sense of accomplishment. Certainly doesn’t make you feel bad because even if you find out you didn’t do too well, you were brave enough to give it a try. And check it off your list. Still an accomplishment! And accomplishing a goal will make you feel like a superstar.
Making gifts has the double effect of making you feel happy by making others happy. Who doesn’t like an unexpected gift given from the heart? It tells others, “I was thinking of you and missing you.” It doesn’t have to be elaborate and when it’s hand made it just seems that much more special. Even a handmade post card sent to friends or family is joyous. And Pinterest can give you practically every idea that’s out there for making items as gifts. Just type in Search “Easy Gifts to Make”. I’m thinking about this one to thank my friends for being the special friends they are…
CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
What does it mean to change your perspective? Your perspective is how you view something or your take on a matter. It doesn’t mean the thing you are thinking about or dealing with has changed. That may not be possible. But, we can certainly handle or cope with it better depending on how we think about it. And we’re not talking about the adage “Every dark cloud has a silver lining.”
So what exactly are we referring to? We can view things as if through a microscope. We can see every little detail and nothing else. If we are only focusing on the details we can forget what it is we are looking at. Or if we use a telescope only and always see the big picture we can forget the beautiful details that make up the whole part. If we use both to look at a matter and also what it is that we are looking at that’s right in front of us, we can see which perspective helps us the most to deal with a situation or problem. Therefore reducing some of the stress and tension it may be producing. Let’s try three ways to change our perspective.
#1 Permanent or Temporary
We can start to think about that problem or situation as to whether it is going to be permanent or temporary. Or maybe the problem is that you’re not sure which one it will be yet, permanent or temporary. So you may have to first look at it as being temporary, because at the moment it’s not a permanent done deal.
If it’s only a temporary situation, you can do all that you can do to resolve it and then allow patience (not saying that’s easy) and the hope for a future time when you know you won’t have the situation or problem anymore. It will change and it will go away if it is temporary. So make your plans for that future time and think about how wonderful it will be. This is when using the telescope to see far away helps. Because there is only so much we can do with a current situation that we don’t like. But focusing on it as if through a microscope isn’t going to make it go away and possibly will only frustrate you.
What if it is a permanent situation? Let’s be honest that most situations and problems are not permanent. Yet there are some that are. For those truly permanent situations, this is a time when seeing what is in front of you can help. We don’t want to use a telescope and pretend things are different than what they are. Or use a microscope to see every little detail that makes our situation seem hopeless. Rather let’s look at what is in front of us that can make it work or help us cope with it better. This may be being thankful for what we do have in this situation. Such as having the necessities of life, love from our family, friends or mate, that we are healthy or we are safe. Look around and see what is in front of us that maybe others don’t have. Then be grateful. Writing these down can also help us to have the right perspective. Or put it in poetic form, in song or art.
In both a temporary or permanent situation you may need to decide if you need…
#2 THE WHOLE PIE OR A SLICE
Normally when eating pie or some other delicious sweet we crave the whole thing, but we know its more wise and usually healthier if we just have one portion. (I’m not going to judge how big that portion is.) Thankfully when dealing with a problem or situation sometimes the whole pie is the best way to go.
The whole pie means dealing with it head on and tackling all the parts at once. You accomplish more faster. Therefore, the problem or situation is now resolved and it’s over. This requires using the telescope to see the end goal, the microscope to see the details needed to achieve that, and looking at what’s in front of you that you can use to get those details done. This can require a lot of effort to carry this out but the results speak for themselves.
At other times and usually more frequently, we need to take a slice at a time. We need to take a step back and then look through the microscope at the details. Pick the first detail, step away from the microscope and look at what’s in front of you. Deal with that first. So basically you are confronting the problem one step at a time. You are using the microscope but not staying at the microscope. This step by step approach helps us not to get too frustrated. You are picking away at it bit by bit until it’s reduced or gone. And knowing you’re making progress can also help lessen your stress. Rejoice in your progress! Give yourself a mini celebratory break.
#3 BIG EFFECT OR LITTLE EFFECT
This might not seem that big of a deal if it has a small or large effect, but it’s how your viewing it. Your perspective that makes the difference.
When you think about the problem or issue that is causing you stress, this is when you want to use a telescope. We need to consider how it will affect your life when it reaches it’s final conclusion. Will you have a small effect or a big effect? Please add a dose of reality and consider what is truly important in life. If there will be a big effect, then your life will change and it may not be what you want but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. There may be new advantages to your situation you didn’t have before. And if it ends up being a temporary condition (as discussed previously) then the effect could be much smaller than how you had perceived it before. Challenges in life, especially difficult ones, can help us to see areas of improvement in ourselves, give us opportunities to change a path in our lives, and to appreciate the little things we never even noticed before.
When it will have a smaller effect on your life, let’s leave it at that and be happy. Because in my experience it can always be worse. These small effects can be irritating or annoying at times, Just stating a truth. At those times think about how it could have turned out or did turn out for others not as fortunate as you. It will really help to keep your perspective tuned properly.
You now have a lot of stress management tools to use for coping with our current pandemic. These may be very different and might take some time to get the hang of it. I am confident you will be able to by taking a deep breath, clear your mind for a minute, and slowly figure out what you need to do.
Please keep in mind that I am not a trained professional in mental health. I am sharing suggestions that have worked for my friends, family and myself. If ever you feel depressed or overly stressed, please seek the help of a professional. Or talk to someone you can trust until you are able to get any help you may need.
We may not have much longer to deal with the novel corona virus or it may last longer than we expected. Either way, we can make the best of it by using helpful advice and tips, stress management techniques, and keeping in touch with our friends and family.
Please stay safe and well and be happy.
Stress Less Today 