Another week has gone by in this new reality – First the Bay Area and then the entire state of California is told to “Shelter in Place.” I breathe a small sign of relief – finally we are deciding to act before the numbers get bad. While there is no cure for this novel (aka new) Coronavirus, we can now perhaps buy enough time
- Slow down the spread – “flatten the curve”
- Get more tests, and build more bed space and ventilators.
- Come up with a vaccine (it will take 12-18 months)
Then I see on the news that Florida is still celebrating spring break and young people in CA are all heading outdoors, not understanding the global threat or the consequence of their actions on others. Ugh, our battle to flatten the curve will be much longer than that of China, even though we are only 1/4 of their population.
We cannot control others or outside factors
I am beyond mad at these irresponsible, ignorant people. The only thing I can do is use the social media I have access to and urge more people to take this seriously – practice “shelter in place,” and “social distancing” I realized there is so much out of our control at the moment.
- We cannot control what other people do – perhaps the government will take more action – will we need “Martial Law” for our country to put in an united effort to “shelter in place” and thus slow the spread?
- We cannot control how quickly we can get a vaccine – We cannot rush medical science or it will have other consequences
- We cannot control how broken our US health care system is – we do not have enough test today to know the true spread of this virus. We do not have enough ventilators or beds and most of us cannot help build more.
- We cannot control the downward spiral of the economy. It was over-inflated and now it’s unclear how low it will go.
However, we can control how we cope
This new reality is here to stay for a few months and perhaps up to a year. It won’t be just a few weeks through spring break. Colleges are already deciding to do remote learning for spring quarter. So what can we do in the mist of all this craziness?
In additional to follow the order of “shelter in place,” here are seven tips that are helping me cope with our new daily life.
- Be grateful – I wrote a whole article on this last week. It helps me stay calm and positive everyday as I think about the things I am grateful for. It is important to practice this daily and especially when you feel anxious.
- Go on a Frequent News Diet– stop reading or watching the latest coronavirus news for a day or two. In my case, I started small and just stopped looking at the news right before I go to bed. I learned the hard way how much anxiety it was giving me. For a few hours or a day, give yourself a break and just focus on daily life with your loved ones. There is beauty in enjoying the present and the simple things.
- Appreciate the gift of time – Exercise and eat healthy. I realized I have so much more time now given I don’t need to commute to work, to kids school or to the gym. This past week, I worked out every day to get rid of the anxious energy in my body. I was able to also try new workouts at home – like dance class via video (my kids got a good laugh watching me :-)) Additionally, eating home-made meals is so much more healthy as well as saves money. Both of these are helping me stay balanced emotionally and physically. What we can all do for ourselves is boost our immune system any way we can.
- Get Creative and Socialize virtually – We are all social beings. “Shelter in place” is isolating if we let it. So don’t let it. Start 5pm virtual happy hours. One of our friends started a “Quarantini hour.” Get creative with your friends via FaceTime, Facebook group, We chat, WhatsApp, etc… Thank goodness we have wifi and so much modern tech. Just today, we FaceTime our good friend in the East Bay and our kids play “20 questions” together for 30 min. So fun to see our kids just having fun in this new medium.
- Practice pattern interrupt – I realized whether I watch the news or not, the feeling of uncertainty can loom if I let it. I practice pattern interrupt in order to stop the spiral of any negative thinking. Luckily I have two rowdy kids who helps me with it naturally as they interrupt me all the time now :-). Whether you have kids or not, you can get out of any unproductive thoughts by “abruptly changing the subject” with your mind. Here are some simple ways to do it – watch a funny movie, search and share funny images with your friends, learn something new that you have always been interested in, start a gratitude journal, do anything creative. My go to right now besides movies and playing with my kids are my Halfbike and OneWheel. We bought both last year and never had enough time to really learn them. Now we take one or the other out almost every day. When we are learning them, our mind can only focus on that and thus give us the relief from any other thoughts.
- Create a new positive habit – given this abrupt new reality, we are actually all given a gift – a gift to create new habits. In this first month of new reality, we will be making many micro decision about what to do or not to do before it becomes routine. Think back to your new year resolutions. This is the time to kick start them again and you will have a better chance of making it stick. If we are forced to live differently, then it’s a chance for change for the better. For me, one of my focus is to be present. I am learning to just sit on the couch every day for 5 min and watch my kids play with each other. It’s super calming and rewarding.
- Go outside everyday – the fresh air and sun help with my immune system and my attitude. The beauty of “shelter in place” is we can still be out and about as long as we are at least 6 feet away from others. I try to go out every morning during my first call so that it feel like I am going to work. We also take the kids out for soccer, freebie, etc. I may finally start running more as well – two 5Ks so far last week.
These are just starting tips and I hope they help. Let’s beat this invisible threat together as a community.
Your comments: How are you coping with Shelter in Place? do you have additional tips to share?
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Take care and let’s do our part to flatten the curve
Lei