With so much fear surrounding one's health, participants sought to find comfort amid their socially isolated lives. This was accomplished through leaning on social support, engaging with pets, beautifying their space, and spending quality time with people in their home. With the lack of clarity surrounding how long individuals will need to be sheltering-in-place for, managing uncertainty was an incredibly important practice. This was done through creating routine or structure, engaging in projects, setting boundaries with distressing stimuli, or through reaching out to a mental health professional.
I stand on the rock: I may not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. I have faith in God. I believe that he is sovereign. He is on the throne, and he is in control.
Put your shoes on: I have a close friend who I talk with regularly. We talk about the challenges faced right now the waning motivation that we both experience at times. A simple note to the other that we're struggling or having a bad day results in a phone call from the other to support each other. Our latest phrase is "remember to put your shoes on" because we've talked about how it's sometimes hard to get motivated to work out--now and always. But the process of putting on your shoes shifts the mind into action rather than inaction; it can be the difference between succeeding in doing the task or finding excuses to not do the task. So it's important for me to remember to put my shoes on every day. This is not always the real shoes; but in battling motivation and the changing times, it can be putting on work clothes or putting on makeup, or many other symbolic things to take that first step toward action.
Scout: If we hadn't had this dog in our home I'm not sure how we'd have fared. She's given us a reason to walk, a happy face to look at, and some routine. The dog and I are both old ladies with arthritis so we understand each other.
Virtual therapy: I started seeing a pain psychologist shortly before getting stay-at-home orders. I honestly would not have been able to cope as I have without weekly(and sometimes twice weekly) sessions. We've navigated my anxiety, my anticipatory grief and my illness in two short months.
