How I’m Practicing Self-Care during Covid-19

Hi I’m Emma and I live in Washington State. My home state has almost 2,200 confirmed cases of covid-19. Yesterday, the President approved Washington’s emergency disaster declaration. Today, the Washington State governor has mandated a Stay Home, Stay Healthy order.

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It’s an extremely stressful for everyone around the world. And now more than ever, we need to be taking care of ourselves (mentally, physically, and spiritually). I’ve always practiced self-care but now with emphasize to stay home and socially distance, I wanted to share how I’m practicing self-care during covid-19.

Here are a few ways I’m trying to practice self-care in the middle of a pandemic:

Self-care Tip #1: I’m getting educated.

Last week, my friend Sasha, a Research Scientist working at
the UW Virology Department,
hosted a one hour FaceTime call educating our friend group about covid-19. UW
Virology running tests to determine
which patients test positive or negative for coronavirus 24 hours a day. Their
teams (including Sasha) are also on the front lines of developing a vaccine for
covid-19.

The three major lessons she taught us about covid-19 are:

Lesson 1: Covid-19 is NOT like the flu.

She explained that almost everybody has been exposed to the flu at some point in their lives. You might have had the flu or had the vaccine so your body knows what to do when the flu virus enters your system.

Lesson 2: Covid-19 is a COMPLETELY NEW virus.

Our bodies have never faced this virus and has to figure out how to battle this virus. Our bodies are basically “newborn babies” when it comes to this virus.Our healthcare infrastructure can’t handle the severe amount of cases coming it’s way. Sasha emphasized that we must slow this virus down because our healthcare system WILL CRUMBLE. We literally don’t have enough ventilators in our country.

Lesson 3: I learned we can still go on walks.

We can walk our dog. We go to the grocery store to stock up on food. But we have to continue to social distance (staying 6ft away from others and avoiding groups of 10 in public places). We also have to be aware of TRANISITION POINTS – doorknobs, handles, steering wheels, etc. Washing your hands in between transition points and throughout the day is a must.

While it can be scary to see the news unfolding, getting educated about the facts of covid-19 can help you understand what’s actually happening.

Self-care Tip #2: I’m walking Boone 2-3 times a day.

The only time Brandon, Boone, and I all get outside is for Boone’s daily walks. He usually gets a walk in the morning and in the afternoon after work. We’ve been avoiding the dog parks but we’re still walking around our neighborhood.

Walking Boone is one way I practice self-care with covid19 and I’m thankful we can still do this (and stay 6ft away from others) while Stay Home, Stay Healthy order in place.

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Self-care Tip #3: I’ve been running way more.

One way I’ve been dealing with stress and keeping my
endorphins up is running. I actually fell out of my running routine these last
2-3 years because of grad school and life being busy. But running allows me to
still practice social distancing and lets me get outside at least for 30 min.

Running has also helped bring down my blood pressure. I’ve
been trying to bring down my blood pressure for the last four months. With my
corporate job, wedding planning, and launching a podcast, my stress levels were
through the roof. I can’t believe that my blood pressure has gone back to
normal… in the middle of a pandemic. But I know running has definitely helped!

Self-care Tip #4: I’m making breakfast every day.

Before social
distancing and working from home, I used to toast a bagel, smother it in cream
cheese, and hop in the car to commute to work. I used to always feel stressed
trying to get out of the door and into work as quickly as possible to avoid the
morning rush.

But since I don’t have to commute in the mornings, I’m taking the time to make breakfast every day. It’s bringing me so much joy to eat either pancakes, scrambled eggs, and rice for breakfast. I know making breakfast seems like a small way to practice self-care during covid-19, but it really does make a difference for me!

Self-care Tip #5: I’m calling my family every day.

I’ve only seen my parents in person once over these past few
weeks so I make sure to give them a call every day to check up on them. I’m
thankful that my parents have each other and my aunt and uncle nearby so they
can all still hangout.

Self-care Tip #6: I’m continuing to write, create videos, and photos.

Creating content is one way I have fun and also find an escape. I feel really good when I’m writing or I have an idea for a TikTok or IGTV. Some people watch their favorite movies, some people paint, well I create content. I’ve found that still creating fashion and content creation tips helps me de-stress.

While it may seem strange to continue to create content at this time, I’m going to explore new ways to create content that makes me happy while also serves my audience.