'This is just toooo much!'
"This is too much!" she screamed through the phone. "This is just toooo much!"
Have you screamed that lately? I have. I know you have!
This is all too much. Trying to work from home, too much IG, too many people getting on your nerves, too much constant news about COVID-19. And that was before the protests, rebellions and riots across America and the world because of the killing of George Floyd.
It's too much, for most of us.
Lord knows – yes, He does – what we're going through, what we're all going through is unbearable in some ways. No job, no relief from the bad news, too much work, too little privacy, very little peace of mind.
Our mental health is waning, depression is creeping in. Our physical health is suffering from too many snacks and too little exercise. One feeds off the other, right? Stress adds to the toll.
Self-care, including mindfulness about our holistic needs, is our salvation.
Stress and trauma can have long-term effects on our mental, physical and spiritual health if unmanaged.
Now that we've been in this turmoil for more than three months, and are likely to be in it in some iteration for the next several months.
How do we keep our minds right, to help get through this? We can by being mindful of where we are now individually versus where we were several months ago, two weeks ago, two days ago.
Self-care, including mindfulness about our holistic needs, is our salvation.
Self-care is simply paying attention to and supporting one's one physical and mental health. Its such a big part of the treatment for our physical and mental health disorders.
Self-care develops the resilience to deal with the stress in a healthy way and models positive behavior for friends, family, coworkers and neighbors.
There is a natural connection between self-care, mindfulness and balance. Make sure to carve out time to do what makes you happy and brings you a sense of peace. Don’t bring your phone to the dinner table and whether you are at home or at work, be fully present.
How to cope? Some of the best advice I’ve seen from Transforming Stress, by Transforming Stress: The Heartmath Solution for Relieving Worry, Fatigue, and Tension by Doc Childre and Dr. Deborah Rozman. The book describes a simple method people can learn and practice to transform stress by shifting the heart's own rhythms.
Stress relief when combined with focused prayer, lowers anxiety and gives you mental, physical and spiritual relief.
It works. I’ve tried it.
Show emotion, be a cry baby
Move, unlock your body, sitting is the new smoking
Body work, massage, yoga
Get adequate sleep; take naps
"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27
Focusing on God – and not on the calamity around us -- brings peace of mind relaxation, renewal and confidence that you can make it through whatever you are going through.
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