Living alone during the quarantine of Covid can be stressful. We are more restricted by activities in our lives than ever before. With winter beginning to set in and the Holidays on the horizon, one wonders how we will cope with the stress.  We know that our holidays may be very different this year, usually spent with family and friends. This year we might have to think how we can stay healthy and yet still get through it all. It will take a bit more creative thinking to burn off the stress. Try to make sure you create more movement in your daily life. With the cold weather it will be harder to get out to exercise, and gyms are still restricted. This does not mean you need to spend money on some new exercise equipment, there are many free videos on youtube for all kinds of fun ways to create more movement in your life. You will have more energy and improved mood, even if you just get up and stretch for a few minutes every hour.

Reach out to a friend every day, just to see how they are doing. Just a simple text will do, but it helps us to stay connected to people when we don’t see them. Try to have a few conversations each week with close friends or family. 

As for activities, think about cleaning out your closest and donating to an organization that supports homelessness. They could use those warm clothes and blankets we don’t always need. Or think about how you could help out in your community in some small way. Donate food to a food bank if your closet was cleaned out pre covid. The local pet shelters are always looking for dog walkers as well. This will definitely increase your mood if you’re a pet lover, just make sure not to take them all home HAHA. Perhaps a new hobby, learn to knit or crochet, or look online for ideas, Pinterest is a good place to look for ideas. Even a puzzle can be a good way to focus your mind off your stress and not get sucked into the couch with a binge in Netflix. That is sometimes fun but we need to have other mindful activities to take our mind off of things. With the winter and the holidays being so different this year we will have to work a bit harder to stay positive and happy. Making a daily list of the things we are grateful for is always a good way to stay focused on positive things in our life. We can then be grateful for each and every day.

Written by Diane Hopkins, LICSW, Clinical Therapist at Charmed Counseling

Diane@charmedcounseling.com, www.charmedcounseling.com

#TherapyTuesday