Practicing Self-Care During The COVID-19 Quarantine

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The year 2020 has come in with a BANG ever since January 1^st. While we all screamed our celebratory, “Happy New Year!” COVID-19 was creeping right around the corner, welcoming itself like an unwanted forehead face pimple on picture day. Fast-forward to now, we are in quarantine, enduring a global pandemic, and fighting an invisible virus that no one understands.

One thing we must take time for, what some may have thought of as optional, is self-care. Self-care has always been a debatable topic – especially for women. Being natural nurturers of others, women find it hard to find time to take care of themselves. We know we have to, we know we should, but we have to make that last excuse first!

While COVID-19 is running rampant on a global scale, causing deaths and mayhem, we must keep a close watch on our minds, body, and soul. Self-care is no longer an option but a necessity during times such as this. If your one of the comfortable folks while waiting this quarantine out, count yourself as blessed. There have been people suffering from deep depression, anxiety, financial stress and are barely hanging on by a thread.

According to stats released by the Washington Post in May, Online therapy company Talkspace reported a 65 percent jump in clients since mid-February. A federal emergency hotline for people in emotional distress registered a more than 1,000 percent increase in April compared with the same time last year. Last month, roughly 20,000 people texted that hotline, run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

These stats scream a need for help. However, we can start at the foundation of self-care and move up from there.

What does self-care provide for the human soul?

• Self-care allows you to be grounded and present within yourself, reminding you how much you matter.
• Self-care allows you to do continuous self-checks, keeping an eye on your overall mental and physical status.
• Self-care naturally keeps you calm and brings you down from the high-stress life.
• Self-care allows you to be able to care for others.

Self-care is an action we must intentionally put in our schedule on a pattern basis (weekly, bi-weekly, etc.) In a time such as this, self-care needs to be implemented more frequently than once per month.

Here are some ways for you to implement your own self-care regimen.

Eat breakfast and get your daily Vitamin D.

Eating breakfast should be a priority as it boosts your metabolism. Keeping your metabolism at its peak will prevent weight gain and fight against mood swings and depression. Your body needs daily Vitamin D. Although we are quarantined and must practice social distancing, we could still go for short walks where there are few to no folks around. We could spend some time outside on the deck or porch to soak in the sun.

In 2013, a meta-analysis research study by Cambridge University noticed participants with depression also had low levels of vitamin D. We must do all we can to keep our mental state safe.

Treating yourself to a DIY Home Spa Treatment

While it may be ill-advised to go to a physical spa during this global pandemic, you can create a DIY home spa day. Take one day out of the week to take pamper yourself.

Here are ideas for some DIY spa treatments you can do at home:

• Wash and massage your hair and scalp
• Manicures – soak your hands in warm water, remove cuticles, and trim and paint nails.
• Pedicure – soak your feet in Epson Salt, remove cuticles, and trim and paint toes.
• Face Masks – perform a face scrub and massage, use teabags or cucumbers for the bags under your eyes and sit back and relax.

Have virtual social meets with friends and family.

Just because we are social distancing, it doesn’t mean me we can’t be social – virtually.  Use mobile or web applications like Facetime, Zoom, or Google Meet to plan a girls’ night out or extended family game night. Just recently, my family played bible charades over Facetime to try to guess which bible story’s being performed. It was so fun!

Recently, there have been many virtual birthday parties hosted on Facebook, where folks were celebrating their birthdays with friends and loved ones online. There has also been DJ’s who perform on Facebook live from their homes at specific times – bringing the party to their audiences. There have been creative people creating outlets for more social engagement.

Take some time to implement some of these self-care ideas for your personal regimen. I promise you to deserve it, and the people around you will be grateful you did!

Have any creative self-care ideas? Please share them on our Facebook Group and tell me all about it!