To help you, the community, in managing your stress, we at Zephyr surveyed our employees for their top stress management strategies as they specifically apply to this COVID-19 situation. This is the final post of staff contributions! (You can read the previous posts on our blog: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.)
If you have specific questions about any of these (or want to contribute your own), please shoot us an email and we will reply the best that we can. Also, search our media and articles page for the topic that most interests you and perhaps you will find a podcast or video about it. And, of course, you can always make an appointment with us.
We understand that this list is neither comprehensive nor applicable to everyone, so please take what you can or, if you have more to offer, please do so and we will add them in! Also please share this list with your friends, neighbors, and family because it sure doesn’t do any good locked up here on this page by itself. We all deserve peace and healing right now and Zephyr is honored to be a small part of that.
Grouped by staff member and in no particular order, here is our gift to you, humor included:
NOT Dieting - Snacking is not the problem but having no food would be a problem. Restricting food, especially during a time when the threat of food scarcity feels very real to many of us, is not what’s up. Restricting can lead to binging and other patterns of disordered eating as well as anxious, fearful, and angry feelings. Our bodies are doing their best to protect us. Working against mine right now is unhelpful. Food nourishes the mind, body, and soul.
Checking in with my Body - Some days my body craves movement and strength and flexibility exercises like yoga and pilates. Other days my body craves stillness and rest. I make a conscious effort to check in with my body throughout the day to see what would be fulfilling.
Embracing Flexibility - Structure might be beneficial for some of us, but rigidity is not helpful right now. I’ve been starting my days slowly with lots of time to savor my coffee with my husband and play dinosaurs and puzzles with my son. Usually, I have a few things I’d like to get done throughout the day, and I remain flexible about what accomplishing (or not) those things look like. Giving myself all the grace.
Getting Curious - I’ll catch myself feeling anxious, irritated, fearful, and I ask myself, “Does this feel familiar?” Getting curious about my experiences by being inquisitive about the root of the feeling is typically quite empowering for me. Did my ancestors likely feel this way at any point? Does this remind me of any other time in my life?
Fire! - Sitting by a fire brings me immense peace. There is something so primal and enchanting about fire that always promotes feelings of safety for me.
Deleting Social Media Apps from my Phone - It feels very natural to want to connect with others using social media right now, and it is such a slippery slope. I find that logging into social media platforms from my laptop instead of my phone demands that I be intentional about social media use and prevents me from unhelpful screen time.
Spring Cleaning Social Media - I’ve very deliberately filled my Instagram newsfeed with body-positive, empowering accounts that encourage folks to give themselves and others grace and permission to be however the hell they are in the moment- @Bodyposipanda, @notsafeformomgroup, @SonyaReneeTaylor, @4thTriBodiesProject, @TheLindsayWolf to name a few!
Allowing Grief and Gratitude to Coexist - So many of us are grieving what we expected the beginning of spring to look like, and some of us are simultaneously acknowledging our varying levels of privilege. Allowing these seemingly dichotomous responses to co-exist has helped me welcome the messiness in all of this.
Skin-to-Skin Time - Spending any amount of time close to my husband and son in our birthday suits gets the oxytocin pumping! Nudity is NOT inherently sexual and can be very comforting when we are stuck at home but still perhaps not feeling close to our family.
Cleaning - I imagine a lot of us are reaching for some semblance of control in this wild and every-evolving global climate. Organizing and cleaning my home welcomes a more peaceful energy and provides me with that illusion of control so many of us humans crave.
Writing, writing, writing - Poetry, prose, free associations. Writing helps me feel connected to myself and helps me process and make connections in a different way than I might while processing verbally.
Exploring Outdoors - Taking walks in places we haven’t yet been, including local trails and more isolated areas of our neighborhood, helps satisfy my craving for anything novel. I feel more connected to nature, and, thus, myself when I am spending time outdoors. I have even found that simply taking walks at night instead of during the day feels like a completely different and exciting experience!
Also, kitties, snuggles, silliness, and coffee. Weeeeee!
Thank you for following along with this series! If you missed any of the previous posts, you can read them here: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. If you have any suggestions on how you’re reducing stress in your life, shoot us an email to contribute. Finally, please share this post if you enjoyed it! Stay safe and be well.