The world has changed significantly over the last 10 weeks.  If you had asked me just a week prior to that if I thought we would be stuck inside with schools and businesses closed and having to wear masks out in public, I likely would have told you that you watch too many horror movies.  But here we are, on stay at home orders and not being able to see friends and loved ones, living in fear of the corona virus. 

The change that has occurred has been rapid and there was no time to prepare for this.  I was told on a Friday that my full time job would be going remote and I would be working from home on Monday.  I am one of the lucky people that gets to stay home and practice social distancing.  I have the benefit of being able to work from home and thankfully, due to my online private practice, I already knew the ins and outs of online counseling and therapy, so I could implement that fairly easily with my full time job as well. I am certainly grateful for that.

What I was not prepared for was home schooling!  I have always respected teachers for the difficult and meaningful work that they do, but I have severely underestimated what teachers do every day.  Trying to teach a 6 year old is no easy task, especially when they have an attention span of about 5 minutes.  Overnight, I have had to juggle two jobs, child care, home schooling, and trying to find time to spend with my partner after these long days are over.

At first, I thought working from home would be easy and relaxing.  Little did I know, the days would start blending together and the distractions of home would make it difficult to focus and find time to fit everything in.  I also miss my friends and family as well and it has been difficult to not be able to see them regularly.  Oh, and did I mention that I bought a house and moved during all of this chaos?!

I closed on my home right when all of the stay at home orders began.  I moved in about 8 weeks ago. I thought I would have all the time in the world to unpack because I was working from home.  Needless to say, here we are 8 weeks later, and I am still partially living out of boxes and trying to find everything when I need it. 

So, what am I doing to try to cope and maintain my sanity?  I will share with you the things I have been focusing on to try to manage anxiety and just cope with all of the changes that have been happening:

• Limiting exposure to news and social media - there are a lot of panic-inducing headlines out there and I generally try to avoid them. It is difficult because I do still want to stay up to date.  I allow myself 10-15 minutes a day to read the news online and I just try to make sure I am looking at fact-based information from reputable sources.

• Focusing on the things I have control over - sometimes it feels like there is not a lot left in my control, but there is. I can control where I go, who I let (or don't let) into my home, and what I choose to do with my time. 

• Finding new ways to relax and have fun - this pandemic has led me to seriously adjust the things I am doing for fun and relaxation.  I have been learning how to cook new recipes, baking (which I hadn't done in about 10 years), painting, crocheting, playing board games, livestream trivia nights with my partner, daily walks with the whole family, backyard "gym" sessions during school hours. 

• Exercising - I have been sitting more than ever during the quarantine, so I make a concerted effort to fit in at least 30 minutes of exercise per day.  I also track my steps and aim for 10,000 a day, though some days it is very hard since I am sitting behind a screen for much of the day.

• Maintaining social connections - I have been spending more time on the phone and doing video chats with family and friends in order to reduce the amount of social disconnection.  I have also been meeting up with extended family on nice weather days to do walks, hiking, etc. while still maintaining a safe distance.

• Journaling - I love, love, love writing all my thoughts out and processing my day through writing. 

• Giving myself a break - I was beating myself up mentally for not being all unpacked yet, but I have learned to give myself a break and take it one day (and one box at a time).  Slowly, but surely, I will get unpacked, even if it does seem like it is taking forever.

• Setting boundaries - at the start of working from home, it was easy to blur the boundaries between work and home.  After the first few weeks, I was starting to feel burnt out, so I started being more mindful of time boundaries and ending my work day and only doing work in my home office.  This has definitely helped me to feel more balanced. 

This is a difficult time for everyone and I hope you all are finding ways to take care of yourselves during this chaotic and uncertain time.