It’s Okay to Step Away: 5 ways to manage your self-care during times of crises

The Ambush:

Stress can be a sneaky beast. Without proper self-care, it can come up from behind you and hit you hard like a ton of bricks or wear you down slow and steady, like continuous drops of water eroding a rock.

It can come at you through people you’ve never met before or people you’ve known all of your life.

It can weigh on you feeling like a burden greater than you have strength to bear, limiting your personal successes in life. Or it can ride on your back while you try to climb the professional ladder, adding a hump that destroys your perfect posture and your will to thrive.

It can affect your sleep, your digestion, your ability to make rational decisions, and your relationships with others.

As we sit heavily in the midst of a global pandemic, this year has been very stressful for many of us; affecting us in ways we could have never imagined just a year ago.

I’ve taken some time to think about how I can best manage stressors in my life. What I’ve come to realize is that weaving moments of self-care into a daily routine may protect us from being overwhelmed by things we cannot control, especially during times of crises.

Self-care can be a meaningful contributor to your mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. Though this may be harder for some to do than others, by adopting and implementing key stress-relieving strategies on a regular basis, you’ll be more equipped to manage your response to stressors when they try to sneak up on you. 

Here are 5 things you can do to manage your own self-care during times of crises:

1. Tap into nature:
   • Capture the sunshine: So many of us lead such busy lives that sometimes we forget to take a step back and just sit. Taking 15-30 minutes each day to sit outside on a sunny day can replenish depleted vitamin D levels, release endorphins, and calm your mood.
   • Let it rain: Have you ever noticed that you sleep better during a good rainstorm? For some reason, running water can be so soothing to the soul. If you happen to live or have access to outdoor water sources, combining this with your senses may relieve some built up tension. As an indoor alternative, just taking a bath or shower can do the same thing. Bonus—you may also be a little cleaner when you’re done! 😉
   • Heighten your awareness: Hearing birds chirping in the background, listening to the cicadas/grasshoppers on a warm summer night, or watching the lightening bugs conduct their dance around dusk may be the little moments you need to get you over a stressful hump. The world is not perfect, but there is a lot of beauty in it. 

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff:
   • Wooooo Sah! There are times when emotions take the best of us. While I think being emotional can be a good thing at the right time—at the wrong time, it can cloud our judgement, make us forgetful, and contribute to breakdowns in communication with others. If you’re feeling frustrated or angry about something, you may want to ask yourself— “Is this something I want to give negative energy to or is there another way to approach this?”
   • 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: I find counting really helps me to calm down during difficult moments. There are some who say you should count down ⬇️, others who say you should count up ⬆️. I think it really doesn’t matter. What’s more important is that the actual action can help you to refocus your attention. Also, it can slow down your breathing; giving your body the opportunity to place itself in a more ‘zen-like’ state.

3. Exercise and maintain a healthy diet:
   • Move it and lose it: I can’t stress this enough. Regular and consistent exercise is imperative; even if you just take a walk or stretch. Your body craves and needs the movement, and you may even lose a few unwanted pounds while you’re shedding that unwanted stress weight!
   • Food for thought: Certain foods, like chocolate and lentils, can contribute to improving your mood. Since I am not a licensed nutritionist, I’m not going to start prescribing what you should eat, especially because everyone’s body chemistry is different. But, this is one area where I would highly suggest doing more research to understand what foods would benefit your body best.

4. Pay it forward: 
   Giving to/ or sharing with others is a great way to get your mind off of what’s wrong in the world and focusing on ways to improve it. I have also found that giving to others actually makes me feel better. Now I don’t do it for this feeling, but it is a nice side-effect. Some things you can do that are easy and free are:
   • Give us a hug! Use social media to spread joy. You can give kudos to your neighbors when they post something nice on community apps to help facilitate local connections. Or you can even post something nice on your own to share a little love with your neighbors.
   • Hey friend? When you’re taking that walk around your neighborhood, try saying hello to people you pass by and if you’re feeling adventuresome, you may even try smiling. Don’t worry if you’re wearing a mask, people will see the smile in your eyes. You may find the people you do this to will reciprocate the action. In addition, smiling may actually contribute to elevating your mood levels; another helpful way to give yourself a little self-care.

5. Balance: If you’re going to tune into the news and/or social media to keep informed of the issues and injustices of the world, I also encourage you to tune into things that can counterbalance this.
   • Each one, teach one: Can you join/host a Zoom call that focuses on sharing recent good news in your community, country, or the world? It’s a great way to maintain social distancing during a pandemic while catching up with folks in a positive way. You can also try taking online classes on YouTube or signing up for other webinars on EventBrite or other platforms where the topic focuses on learning a new skill. Haven’t you always wanted to learn how to cook some yummy meal or delicious dessert? Who knows you could be a master chef in no time! 👩‍🍳
   • Take a breath: Meditation and deep breathing can be beneficial to managing your stress and helpful when aiming to re-center yourself, especially during times of chaos and confusion. I enjoy engaging in quick 10-15-minute meditation sessions that I find on YouTube. I usually listen to the ones with no voice–just sounds of nature and gentle music. But surprisingly, just that small investment can really take the edge off!

Key Takeaways:

Someone close to me once said “You are too blessed to be stressed.” I think about this often when these feeling start to creep into my thoughts. What I’ve learned is that we cannot control anyone’s actions, but we can control our reactions. And while stressors (small and large) are a fact of life, by engaging in regular and meaningful moments of self-care, you will be better-prepared to deal with life’s stressors as they emerge. 

If you like what you read, please feel free to comment, share, and subscribe.

-Many thanks!