My roommate paced restlessly, up and down the hallway of our small two-bedroom apartment in Denver.
“Day 4. We’re only on day 4,” she repeatedly muttered to herself. “The world is ending.”
Though this may be a tad hyperbolic, I understood the sentiment. COVID-19 had swept into our lives with unprecedented force, social distancing guidelines and city closures all but mandating that we remain in this 900-foot cube in isolation. And to top it all off, Denver was being hit with a freak snowstorm. The one release that my roommate had, going for a solo jog in the park in the evenings, was suddenly gone.
My clinical psychology PhD-candidate spidey-senses tingled to life. This was an anxiety attack waiting to happen. And it wasn’t the only one; my inbox was being flooded with messages from friends and family seeking resources, or simply needing to vent the stresses of quarantine and uncertain future plans. The news displayed terrifying Black Friday-esque scenes of panicked Costco shoppers looting toilet paper, far more than I could possibly imagine they would use. This kind of behavior wasn’t even rational; but in times of crisis, our minds go to strange places. Our thinking becomes distorted, our behavior erratic. Stress manifests in unhealthy ways. And we suffer.
This can be especially stressful in regards to health. Mentally and physically, our bodies take a toll in these trying times. It is more important than ever to engage in coping and self-care habits; and no, I do not mean emotional eating Skittles or 8-hour Netflix binges. I’ll walk you through some key tenets of behavioral health coping, including the importance of routines and the power of mindfulness. Hopefully, this guided discussion of psychological coping strategies can provide you with some ideas on how to maintain your healthiest self during coronavirus, and/or inspire you to innovate strategies of your own.
Let’s Talk Routine
For many of us, the most crippling aspect of quarantine is the loss of routine. From an early age, we stress the importance of routines; teaching our children bedtime routines for example, or the routine of getting ready for school in the morning. And this isn’t just to make the lives of parents easier; routines are critical in fostering positive habits that help facilitate our goals, while working to eradicate negative habits that might sabotage our aspirations. Unsurprisingly, research also supports the imperative role that routines play in keeping us healthy, from best sleep practices to instilling behavioral regimens to keep us at a healthy weight.
While it’s unavoidable that your day-to-day life will look very different in the age of COVID-19, that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your schedule completely. Adjust, don’t abandon.
You may find yourself now working from home; but that doesn’t mean you should forgo your 7am wakeup time. Maintain parameters for your bedtime and for your morning alarm clock, ensuring that you (1) get enough sleep to keep your body healthy and (2) preserve other parts of your routine that may be tied to your circadian rhythm, like intermittent fasting.
If, like my roommate, your workout routine has been impacted by quarantine, think about ways to modify exercise to fit your circumstances. In her case, this meant borrowing my yoga mat and enrolling in a 30-day online ab challenge with friends. The challenge structure and social engagement piece isn’t exactly the same as going to the gym or an OrangeTheory class, but it’s not a bad substitute! Even better, try keeping your workouts at a consistent time. If you used to hit the gym every day after work at 5pm, stick to a 5pm time daily. Or perhaps you can take advantage of newfound flexibility in your schedule to get a workout in first thing in the morning, to get your day off to a great start with endorphins flowing! Exercise can mitigate negative mental consequences like depression while improving psychological outcomes through mood and mediating other health behaviors such as the aforementioned all-important sleep.
When it comes to health, routines, and coping during COVID, remember that modification > elimination.
Meditation, Mindfulness, Mood
I’ve got news for you; physical health is related to, and often largely dependent on, mental health. And while meditation might sound like some kooky alternative practice,what it really comes down to is methods of fine-tuning our self-awareness, attention, focus, and perspective. As you might imagine, this has broad applications to everything from coping with stress to the alteration of behavioral practices implicated in weight loss.
Take, for example, Stephanie E. As Stephanie endeavored to make lifestyle changes to facilitate weight loss goals, she plateaued and began struggling. “It was more than just diet…..I realized it was more about self-care and not just food….I realized I had to take care of my emotional self aside from just the food I was putting in my body. I started working on stress management with my naturopath, we had talked about meditation, even things as simple as getting better sleep, those affect your hormones and how your body wants to retain weight.”
Through the implementation of emotional self-care practices like meditation (in conjunction with diet and exercise), Stephanie managed to lose more than 65 pounds in 9 months.
Similarly, Matthew W. knew that counting calories wouldn’t be enough to get him to the place of health he aspired to. With a young child at home and one more on the way, he realized his approach needed to include more attention to his mental and emotional wellbeing. “I added in stress reduction, I started to meditate. Which was kind of really big for me. Adding that piece in to be more holistic was really impactful.”
One of the most popular forms of meditation is mindfulness. The premise of mindfulness is simple; to be fully present and aware of the moment. What in the world does that mean? Aren’t we doing that already?
You might be surprised how easy it is not to be mindful, actually. Think about the last meal you ate; what was going through your head? Were you fully engaged in the act of eating, the taste, the smell, the feeling of going from hungry to full? Or was your head racing with errands needing to be done, or rehashing the last conversation you had with your boss? In an age of multitasking, you’ve probably been socially trained not to be mindful at all. And this is problematic, because in the absence of mindfulness, we become less attuned to our bodies and ourselves. We’re distracted; we eat because we’re bored, or smoke cigarettes because we’re stressed. But imagine, for a moment, the power of presence- the ability to truly discern when your stomach becomes full, how the nutrients in the food make you feel, how endorphins flood your brain after that last mile. The impact of mindfulness should not be underestimated; research has shown that mindful interventions are especially effective in reducing harmful health behaviors like impulsive, binge, and emotional eating.
Whether you’re seeking meditation and/or mindfulness practices to help you achieve a specific goal like losing weight, to maintain a healthy lifestyle during coronavirus, or just serve as a new avenue of mental health care, science has shown that there are enormous and far-reaching benefits. There’s truly no downside, and in this time of trial, tribulations, and trying new things, ask yourself; what do you have to lose? This article has compiled some of the best resources for guided meditations for beginners, apps, and even music and sounds to meditate to. I recommend Headspace, an app with 625,000 reviews in the Apple app store that will provide you with hundreds of guided meditations perusable by topic (such as exercise!), as well as sessions specialized for mental resets and SOS panic moments.
If lifting cans of soup isn’t enough to stay fit during this difficult time, consider engaging in a mental practice like meditation, remembering that mindfulness can be monumental.
Times are Hard….
….but that’s no excuse not to take care of yourself! And just think, in a few weeks (or months, who knows) you could emerge from your cocoon of a home as the healthiest you’ve ever been. Behavioral healthcare practices are critical, and engaging with your mental health can deeply and powerfully impact your physical health too. Through the modification and maintenance of routines and through being mindful of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and choices, you have the ability to take control of your wellbeing in quarantine.
And if part of your behavioral health goals include weight loss, you might consider HealthyWage – an individual weight loss challenge customized to you! You can pick your weight loss goal, timeframe you want to lose it in, and prize (up to $10,000)! Just think- you could go from quarantine to cruise ship with your winnings! Ready to get started? Enter your information in the HealthyWage Prize Calculator to find out how much you can win!
