1. Stay warm.
- Drink hot tea, boiled water, or [decaf] coffee
- Eat hot foods like oatmeal, soups, and cooked fruits or veggies
- Do crunches
- Eat warm lunches
- Try Rick Bhullar Fitness walk-at-home workouts
- Crank up the tunes and learn how to twerk-out
- Cover the base of your doors with a blanket
- Hold a glass of hot water or wear a warm anklet
- If you don't have the real thing, turn on a virtual fireplace
- Do jumping jacks, mountain climbers, or run in place
- Don't be ashamed to cover your face
- Wear beanies, gloves, or scarves inside
- Start a pillow fight and then run and hide
- Put on your snow shoes
- Give those thick long fuzzy socks a cruise
- Throw your clothes in the dryer for two minutes and then put them on
- Try to avoid sitting still for too long
- Change your socks if they get sweaty
- Turn on the homemade karaoke and get ready
- Layer your clothes
- Breath in and out through your nose
- Go back and realize everything you just read ended in a rhyme. Take your time.
2. Take care of your mental health.
- Meditate with the Shine App or the Headspace App (free meditations available wherever you get your podcasts)
- Follow a trainer-led yoga class on Nike Training Club app (bonus, they have fiery workouts to heat your body up too!)
- Write out them feels instead of shoving 'em down. If you really wanna show your strength, then show how capable you are of feeling all them scary feels. You will work wonders for yourself and shine an example for others with your vulnerability.
- Be gentle with yourself.
- Be patient with yourself.
- Be kind to yourself.
- Ask yourself "What do I need right now?"
- And then listen.
- And maybe actually do the thing. Yes, even if it's "I wanna yell and scream and cry like a two year old in a parking lot!" Do it. See what happens. Maybe you'll actually feel . . . better? You'll never know until you know, and then you'll know, you know?
- Give yourself a facial
- How about a self-manicure or pedi-cure? Bonus if you have a roomie who will play along!
- Put on perfume
- That thing you've been saving for a special day, go ahead and bring that out
- Bust out the hair dye
- Put on makeup (come at me gender-norms!)
- Still do your daily routines
- Take a shower
- Do your laundry
- Wash the dishes
- Get dressed
- Put on shoes
- Put on pants
- Comb your hair
- Braid your hair
- Cut your hair (if this is a thing you do)
- Put on your contacts
- Shave your legs
- Pluck your eyebrows
- At-home wax kit?
- Where are those pore strips and teeth whitening strips?
- Floss. [both ways]
- Got water? Bubble bath time!
- Organize your sock drawer, your dresser, your bookshelf, under your bed, your closet, your earrings, your stamp collection, your bathroom cabinet, that one drawer in the kitchen you keep tossing things into, your garage, your car, your "don't look at it" pile. Studies show cleaning up your environment can help bring clarity to your mind. Do eeeet.
- Stop. Take 4 deep breaths in right now at the count of 4. Keep them in and out of your nose and you'll help warm yourself up from the inside!
- Breath in 1-2-3-4
- Hold it 1-2-3-4
- Breath out 1-2-3-4
- Hold it 1-2-3-4
- Breath in 1-2-3-4
- Hold it 1-2-3-4
- Breath out 1-2-3-4
- Hold it 1-2-3-4
- Breath in 1-2-3-4
- Hold it 1-2-3-4
- Breath out 1-2-3-4
- Hold it 1-2-3-4
- Breath in 1-2-3-4
- Hold it 1-2-3-4
- Breath out 1-2-3-4
- Return to normal breathing
- Give yourself a hug. Say (out loud or in your head) "I am here for you. We are okay. We are safe. I love you."
3. Know that it's okay to be scared.
I know so many of you are trying to be strong - maybe for others because you are a parent, a caregiver, "the rock" of the family, or maybe for yourself. Fear is scary. And sometimes it can feel that if we go there, if we really let ourselves go there, we might not be able to get out, or we might create havoc for others, or we might look weak. But we must remember that it is easy to repress. It is easy not to feel, to turn our hearts and minds off. To forget about the troubles of the world and 'deaden' ourselves. It takes true courage and strength to feel.
To really feel all those things we are on this Earth to feel, you gotta be strong. When you think of the toughest people you know, do you think of physical strength? Are your strength role models Arnold Schwarzenegger, LeBron James, and Dwayne the Rock Johnson? Or are they people like the mother of Travon Martin, who had to watch her son's killer go free and claim self-defense while her son was walking home with a bag of skittles and a bottle of tea? My point is - strength isn't always physical and maybe its time we work on our selves outside of the gym. Let yourself feel.
Let yourself be scared. Because you know what? I bet you're not alone. And maybe if you share your fear with others they will open up too and share their fears with you. I'm not saying this so we can all live in an eternal fear party. I'm saying this because you will find that when you speak those fears out loud they tend to dissolve or resolve a lot faster than when you speak those fears in your head over and over and over again. Also, you know that feeling you have right now? That feeling that you are so utterly alone in the world, lost deep in your thoughts where you fear no one can reach you? Imagine if everyone on this Earth is feeling that right now. Now imagine what would happen if you proved that feeling wrong because you say, "Oh no, you are not alone, I feel that too. We are not alone, you see, because I have you."
Okay, I'll start. I'm scared. I'm terrified. I'm scared that we'll lose power, run out of food, lose water, and we'll be stuck here in this house unable to leave because the driveway is covered in ice and we run out of gasoline because no one can bring more gas into the city because of the road conditions. And the stores all run out of food because no one can get any in. And we're stuck in this polar vortex until we have to begin hunting and gathering and the national guard has to come in and rescue everyone, but there's not enough national guard and meanwhile people are running out of food and medication and hope. Not to mention a certain pandemic that's seeing new strains. And this Polar Vortex means that I, as well as many others, will lose a week's worth of wages. That could mean food, medicine, rent, clothes, water, shelter. We don't know what that loss could mean for so many Americans who don't have a "rainy day fund" or a parent to move in with or daddy's credit card. And I work in theatre. An industry that all but evaporated when the pandemic hit, and now what? Now what. Now what indeed.
And then? After all this? Then, well, probably the snow would melt and out would come the spring. The flowers would blossom and the trees would turn green. Slowly, stores and gas stations would get back supplies. Slowly but surely things would go back to at least covid-times. All in masks, but at least with access to power and water. And I don't know what happens then, if we get everyone vaccinated and we find a vaccine for the new strain. If we somehow get this disease eradicated, then, will we be okay? Will we be able to go back to the time before or create something new, something more? And will we be able to get the disease eradicated? Will we be able to get everyone vaccinated? No one knows for sure. But let's hold on to that. No one knows. For or against. So lean into the thought that you don't have to fear what you don't know because YOU DON'T KNOW.
"Can you absolutely know that that's true?" says Katie Byron in Loving What Is. And if the answer is no, then maybe celebrate the liberty in that. No, I don't know if this will all be resolved. No, I don't know how it will be resolved. No, I don't know when it will be resolved. I don't know when theatres will physically re-open. I don't know when I'll get to visit the Globe theatre. I don't know when I'll get to see Harry Potter London Studios. I don't know when I'll get to see my mother and know she is safe with power and water. No, I don't know when I'll get to visit my grandmother who is locked down in her Alzheimer's unit. No, I don't know when I'll be able to work again. No, I don't know how long my savings will carry me. No, I don't know when this winter will end. But I also don't know that it won't end.
I don't know that there isn't a solution. I don't know that my life won't be rebuilt into something more truer and more beautiful-er than it ever has been. I don't know if my world will shift into a brighter, fuller, more welcoming, loving, and kind universe. I don't know if somehow all of this ice will finally push me to write that play, record those songs, produce that event, make that purchase, sell that thing, sort through those old memories which lead to that big idea, meet that person, call that friend, start that project - I don't know what this will bring, but I do know that the universe hasn't failed me yet. All it has done is put me on the path I need to be in. In the place I need to be in. All that I know is that if I wasn't here, maybe my godmother would be stuck at home alone possibly without food or someone to drive her to get more. All that I know is that I am safe and warm and cared for. All that I know is that today I am okay. And that is all I need to know. That is all I need. That is all. That.
4. Do what you can for others.
- Got a partner? Give them a shoulder massage.
- Got a family or many roommates? Start a shoulder massage circle
- Own the appropriate snow equipment? Plow the sidewalks or driveway for your neighbors.
- Own a vehicle capable of withstanding the weather? Offer to drive people to get food or supplies.
- Check on your neighbors.
- Check on your family.
- Check on your friends.
- Check on yourself. Yes, you read that correctly, you can't pour from an empty cup so remember that while it can be a great distraction to help others, you need to help yourself first.
- Hug a consenting individual. Do not let go until you count to 20. Do this daily.
5. Do What You Can
- Write that thing
- Watch that movie
- Read that book, article, novel, blog, sign
- Listen to that podcast, musical, album, voice in your head telling you its gonna be okay
- Color
- Draw
- Make sometihng
- Cook
- Bake
- Meal prep
- Do 1 pushup
- Journal
- Write someone a letter, a card, a poem, a thank you
- Text someone you haven't spoken with in a while
- Call someone
- Write a letter to your future self, your past self, your present self
- Write a letter from your future self telling your current self how awesome your life is and discuss in detail all of the incredible things in your current (future) life
- Make a vision board
- Cut up old magazines and make a collage
- Clean the bathroom, the kitchen, the floors, deep clean the rugs, wash all the blinds, the window sills, the mugs
- Go through everything you own and decide if you'd like to keep, donate, or sell
- Make a wish list, or 3
- Dare to dream
- Set a timer for 1 minute, close your eyes, and take deep breaths
- Use the bathroom
- Eat
- Sleep
- Drink water
- Remember you are still a human being and you have needs
- Start a podcast
- Make a business plan, a retirement plan, a financial plan, a budget, a family tree
- Bubbles
- Card reading
- Sage the house
- Candles
- Aromatherapy
6. Release What You Must
- Exhale on sound (warn your roommates first so they know you're not a dying raccoon). Don't try to sound pretty. Tell the world how you feel. Bonus: if you have roommates, have them do it with you!
- Make a list of all the things you don't want in your life anymore (negativity, trust issues, lack of communication, fear, sadness, chaos), write it down on paper, burn that paper
- Make a list of all the things you do want in your life. Plant it in your garden, or fold it up and put it somewhere you'll forget about it (jewelry, purse, that dumb kitchen drawer). Wait for the magic to happen.
- Go through your Facebook friends and remove people you don't know, snooze or unfollow those people who keep posting negative garbage that makes you sad, OR - hold the phone - DELETE FACEBOOK O.O
- Stop scrolling
- Get off the medias of social and use that time to talk with someone instead
- Is the news making you feel anxious? Turn it off.
- Pay attention to the negative energy surrounding you and see if there is anything you are doing to allow that energy to continue. Are you participating? Are you still talking to the friend even though they are putting the fiend in friendly? Can you turn off the device or walk away from the gossip? Can you say no thank you? Can you better yourself first?
7. Remember What You're Grateful For
- The Fitness Marshall
- My web design business and the work it is providing me during this time
- My godmother
- My large family
- The fact that my mother has a fireplace and dogs to keep her warm
- Power
- Heat
- Electricity
- Comfort
- Coziness
- Warmth
- Water
- Running Water
- Water filters
- Air purifiers
- Hot water
- Cold water
- Drinkable water
- Tea kettles
- Ovens
- Stoves
- Refrigerators
- Insurance
- Kind people
- Kindness
- Shelter
- Clothing
- Hope
- Light
- Shine
- Wifi
- Weebly
- My blog
- The fact that my angels keep screaming at me to write no matter how many times I tell them, "okay, but first _____"
8. It's Okay To Be Scared
- It's okay to be scared
- It's okay to feel
- It's okay to feel things
- It's okay to be afraid
- It's okay to not be happy all the time
- It's okay to have a wide variety of emotions
- It's okay
- You're okay
- Also, it's okay not to be okay, okay?
Resources for You!
- Depression and Addiction By The Recovery Village | Editor Melissa Carmona Medically Reviewed By Audrey Howitt, JD, LMFT | Last Updated: September 26, 2022
- Celebrating the Holidays While in Recovery
By Don Rogers, CADC, CPRS | Editor Jonathan Strum
Last Updated: September 09, 2022