Hello Everyone

For the past week, I’ve been on-line a lot, maybe too much. There is so much to read, so many unknowns, so many experts, so many theories, so many stories most of which grabbing your eyeballs and not leaving you in a better place.

I tried to distill some of the better information about things that you can do, replacing the fear and hysteria. This a combination of many others’ work, and I’m borrowing the words below.

There are personal essentials: eat, sleep, exercise, and hydration. These are not options; regardless of the events of the day, we must do all four. There are plenty of sites on the internet discussing each of the Essential Four. There are no best ways to achieve them. I have opinions, but these are personal decisions.

Now for the rest of your day, here are three things that you should consider.

Develop A Plan for Staying in Touch: 

Jot down a list of people – even just three, four, or five – under the following headings: friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. Develop a contact plan for the days and weeks ahead. It could be an aunt who lives alone, an older neighbor, or a neighboring couple. Some you may want to contact every day or even every week. These need not be long conversations. Just reaching out is often enough. 

Make Use of New Technologies: 

Use the fantastic new communication technologies available today – Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, Google Hangouts, etc. to create regular group conversations with your family or a specific group of friends. If you have folks in your circle who have never embraced platforms like these, do them a favor; call them and walk them through setting up. It will change their lives. 

Give Yourself a Break: 

Start a virtual book club over Skype or Zoom. Plan to watch the same comedy on Netflix with a friend. These moments of human contact – even if they’re virtual – are even more important in times like these. Seeing a familiar face is comforting, also if it is on a device screen. 

#Covid-19 #MentalHealthintimesofcrisis #GettingBeyondCovid-19 #Whattodowhentheofficeisclosed #ChinaFlu