What your naturopath is doing right now.

 

I’m not sure about you, but for me the days blend together and it all actually feels like 1 long day. The world feels dangerous and the threat is invisible. 

We’ve all had our lives affected by COVID-19 and the fallout is going to continue for some time. Uncertain times, such as now, can always trigger the difficult feelings of worry, nervousness and panic. It can feel as if you are spiraling out and the result is feeling a lack of control; that in turn, sets off the emotional and mental alarm bells causing what we call anxiety.

During this time, what can help is :

~ Being  grateful , that your  loved ones are safe, healthy and taking all the necessary precautions.

~ Learning the gentle lesson that while you may have plans and expectations, things don’t go according to plan and you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. 

~ And doing certain things that allow you to feel some sense of control or daily purpose.

As someone who has suffered from anxiety I wanted to share the commitment I made to support myself. If you feel so inclined, join me or reflect on what would give you some sense of stability. 

Every day I do:

• One thing creative 
• One thing for my home
• One thing work related 
• One thing related to body movement 

 

Creativity 

Creativity is all about self-expression. Some days I am compelled to paint and other days I edit videos. The point is that whatever I felt moved to do in the day I did it. 

Home

Your physical environment is very important to your mental health and because we are cooped up at home it is worthwhile for me to spend some energy doing the chores I’ve been outing off. Who knows, this just might be that opportunity to “Marie Kondo” your home!

Work

I’m a self-proclaimed workaholic and while I absolutely need to take days off to rest; I always feel an itch to chase my goals. I feel great when I know that I’ve done something in the day to move a project forward. I believe that my sense of accomplishment and productivity are intertwined because I’m passionate about what I do. 

Movement

Body movement is the single best thing you can do for yourself. Whether that’s immune health, mental health or anything else really, moving your body will make you feel great!

 What I didn’t include, because I was doing it anyways, is the video calling friends and family to check in. Remember, we’re all in this together!

 

Examples of what some days looked like for me:

Saturday:

Creative – tried a new baking recipe 

Work – replied to all my emails

Movement – nature walk at a local trail 

Home – organized and cleaned my desk 

 

Monday:

Creative – writing a meaningful card to my nephew 

Work – tackled 2019 taxes 

Movement – home workout 

Home – cleaned the oven (because I saw how dirty the oven was from baking on Saturday!)

 

I’m not saying that this is how you should reclaim your sense of control but what I am saying is that every day you make choices for your own wellbeing and every day you get the opportunity to do something for yourself that can be as little or as big as you choose.  

Be well,

Dr. Rupa Salwan, ND