By Mari Farthing
For many of us, the hardest part of this global pandemic we are in the midst of is feeling a lack of control. Our days went from a series of necessary tasks, errands, and outings to something wholly unfamiliar. Dealing with an invisible enemy in our homes, communities, and beyond can stoke the fire of anxiety and make just existing a difficult proposition.
I like my routines and I have found that having a well-being checklist of things to take care of every day is ultimately the best way to take care of myself. The best way to care for others is first to care for yourself, after all.
My Pandemic Anxiety Self Care Checklist
Tend to your basic needs. Take a shower, take vitamins, drink water, get enough sleep. Put loving energy in.
Tend to someone or something else. Hug your kids, walk your dog, play with your cat, water your plants. Put loving energy out.
Tend to your community. How can you be of service? Support local businesses. Order in or purchase gift cards. Help with food pantries. Help collect or make personal protective equipment. If you can’t, use your voice to encourage others.
Show gratitude. Tell people you appreciate them. Thank the person at the drive through window, the teller at your bank, the employee putting the groceries in your trunk, the nurse at the hospital—anyone out there leaving their house to help those who stay home.
Reach beyond your own walls. Touch base with a friend or family member not living in your home. Check in with them to make sure they’re okay.
Tend to your spiritual self. Pray. Meditate. Sit on your front step and listen to the birds. Whatever your spirituality looks like, take care to invest in it daily.
Tend to your physical self. Get your heart rate up. Go for a walk. Cue up an exercise video. Play with your dog, your kids, do something active and break a little sweat. Our weird Oklahoma springtime weather gives us nice days mixed in with the random snow and storms—take advantage of those nice days and get out into the fresh air and the sunshine.
Do something that tomorrow you will appreciate. Prepare the coffee maker before you go to bed. Load your dishwasher. Put your self care list in a place you will see it when you wake up so you can start your day off on the right foot.
Treat yourself. Take time to be a couch potato or whatever it is that makes you feel indulgent, but give yourself limits. A day of binge-watching and carb-loading is fine but a week might be too much.
Practice gratitude. Like it or not, this is our life right now. But it will change, someday we will find normal again, maybe a little different than normal has looked in the past, but some semblance of normal will be there. Be thankful for the moments of grace, compassion, and love that you see every day. Record them and remember them and take heart that we will get through.