Social Distancing and the State of the World

For a list of world events surrounding Covid-19, click here.

It goes without saying that the current state of the world is chaotic, unpredictable, and rapidly changing. Citizens around the world have been encouraged by their governments to practice social distancing in order to slow the spread of the disease. In all honesty, I've been guilty of downplaying the critical nature of this situation - giddily looking forward to the opportunity to work from home (AKA steal chickens).

In Canada, where I live, misinformation has been rampant. Chat threads originating from god knows where  have snuck into the inboxes of many people, spreading fear and anxiety about the disease. Though the government has been practice with dispersing information about the disease rapidly and frequently, these efforts have been no match for the rumour-mill.

Since the Prime Minister's address to the nation last Monday, everything that has happened since in Canada has one reality check after another.

I've been so lost in my thoughts that I could physically feel my energy draining from me - like a battery that struggles to hold a charge. I was more short-tempered and on-edge (than usual). The final straw for me was when I was using an authoritative tone with with my 4-year-old nephew and he gave me a look like, "Yo, auntie, just chill out!"

While everyone has been stewing in their worry for themselves, their loved ones, and their friends - mostly at home, practicing self care has never been more important. As important as it is to practice proper hygiene, practicing emotional hygiene will help us all keep level heads and make good decisions and ultimately protect those who are most vulnerable in this situation.

Here are 5 ways that I plan to practice emotional hygiene during this time:

5. Allow myself to be self-compassionate. I'm not going to beat myself up because I'm not as productive as I think I should be. These are not normal circumstances. Nothing like this has happened before in contemporary times and so there are no guidelines for how we should conduct ourselves in times like this.

Let's face the facts. It's very easy to work yourself into a tizzy in times like these, when things are so uncertain. Home should be a place of rest and recuperation. Even though the lines between work and home may be blurred for some of us right now - remember that it is more important than ever not to take work home. When we invite our worries - be it about the current state of the world, about work, about relationships, our personal situations - into our safe havens, we effectively nullify the emotional protection that being at home affords us. Remember that it's okay not to have all the answers and it's okay not to have all of our problems solved immediately. Be kind to yourself. You can't expect yourself to deliver productivity at 100% if you're not feeling 100% yourself.

4. Limit my worry time. I am going to let things go undone. I am going to let imperfect things be imperfect. I am not going to sweat it.

If you must talk/think about work, limit it to your usual working hours. Don't invite the talk of work into your conversations with loved ones - especially those who you live with. We're all stressed out enough as it is. If you're keeping up with Covid-19 news and it's stressing you out, limit that too. There is no need to know every piece of news about this disease the minute it comes out. If you must keep up with the news, limit the time you spend scrolling through news each day. Stay off social media if you can.

3. Move your body. I am going to maintain a good mix of moving around and being stationary. I am lucky to be able to work from home but I'm not going to restrict myself to grinding it out at a desk all day.

I won't repeat the finds of the benefits of physical activity afforded by huge bodies of scientific evidence, but here's a reminder that you need to move your body, as much as you can. Movement will allow more oxygen to flow to your brain and ease the feelings of anxiety that we are all feeling right now. Start by spending more time standing in your home than sitting - and then try out a short workout video on YouTube if you're feeling up for it.

Note: While more news and information on preventing the cause of Covid-19 is coming day-by-day, if you must go outside for a walk/run, please don't plan to meet up with friends and family or anyone outside of your household and practice social distancing with the people who you do encounter on the streets. You can either maintain 2m of physical distance between yourself and others or cross to the other side of the road. Give a smile and a nod of the head to ensure that you're not trying to avoid strangers because of fear or disgust. ;-)

2. Keep up my routine, as much as I can. I'm still going to wake up at my usual time and get ready, like I'm going into the office. The main difference being that I don't have to wear a bra, or pants. Keeping up this routine will trigger my mind to "wake up" for work.

1. Connect with friends and family VIRTUALLY as much as I can. The automatic tendency in these situations is often to hermit and keep to ourselves. We need to hear from one another. We need to talk to one another. We need to check in on one another.

How about you? What are you planning to do to practice emotional hygiene at this time?