I know there is a lot of uncertainty related to loss of income, caring for your families, work-related stress, self-isolation. You are not alone because everyone’s experiences are very similar to yours.

Instead of worrying, do you think you can use this time to focus on the positivity in your life at the moment. Here are some tips for self-care techniques that you might find useful.

When we experience traumatic events, we will have either flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive thoughts. Usually, these moments will come out of nowhere when we are triggered. We will either freeze or don’t know how to manage our emotions and thoughts. In the trauma course, Natalie provided grounding techniques on both flashbacks and nightmares.

I find it helpful to put the protocol in my phone and right beside my bed to help me stay calm.

Importance of Self Care During COVID-19

Things you can do to support yourself:

1. Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories that include social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting. 
2. Take care of your body with deep breathing, stretches, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.
3. make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy such as listening to music, reading, colouring, knitting, or sudoku. 
4. While chatting with coworkers/family/friends and sharing the latest details with them are common, it keeps us thinking about it, which will influence our sense of threat/risk. Be mindful, don’t initiate the conversation and change the subject if it does come up. If you’re comfortable doing so, ask them to not discuss the coronavirus news updates with you.
5. Practice self-compassion – don’t be so hard on yourself if you’re experiencing more anxiety than usual.

Remember, I am here for you during this difficult time. I am offering a free 15 minutes consult to see if we are a good fit together. COVID-19 subsidized rate might be available.