MENTAL HEALTH DURING COVID-19

Hey, my Friends,

So, we are going through something so unique and crazy. It feels like we're living in a movie, doesn't it? So I wanted to write to address coronavirus, COVID-19, and how we can stay calm, find peace, love, and hope in all of this crazy, chaotic situation.

First off, this is something that is impacting every single person on the planet. So, if you're not taking it seriously yet, seriously consider it. Social distancing can save lives right now. It's so important. Not only is this impacting people's health, people's lives, people's families, and loved ones, but this is also impacting politics, our economy –just everyone on a global scale is impacted. And it's scary to think that it's going to be here for a while. I don't think it's going away anytime soon. We're going to be going through this for a few months at least. And honestly, while we're staying home, doing our part –social distancing and practicing good hygiene –the real heroes are the people who are working right now, who are working tirelessly, whether you're working in healthcare –doctors and nurses or people working on trying to find a vaccine, people working in grocery stores, just people working to keep our society and system together and running and functioning as best as possible during this time. So seriously, thank you. And I appreciate all of you people doing that out there. And the rest of us have to do our part to just stay home and stop spreading this virus, okay? A lot of people's lives are being affected, a lot of jobs are being lost, a lot of income is not coming in, and it's kind of scary and sad and crazy. And I know that a lot of us want to get into a dark place. There's a lot of uncertainty, a lot of anxiety and fear going on. So I am just here to try to share my thoughts and my points to help ease all of that. And I recognize that in all of this, I play a part too because I have a platform so that I can share ideas that can get to at least a few thousand of you out there. And that's better than nothing. So I'm here doing my best, and I want you to do your part to do your best.

I have six main points to share today. 

1. The first point is in this crazy, chaotic time, we have to remember to be kind and choose love. There is so much fear in the world right now, and love is really the true opposite of fear. Love brings people together. Fear tears people apart. And I know you've seen people being torn apart right now, just like I have. What we need to do is come together, help each other, support each other, be caring towards one another, because, at the end of the day, we are all human beings, and this virus does not discriminate. You have to channel the vibration, the energy of love during this time, because love is the only thing that is going to keep us together, and we really have to work through this together as a global community. 
2. Next, if you want to ease your fear, anxiety, and worries during this time, the best thing you can do is Be present and focus on what you can control. There are so many things in the world that we can't control. You have to accept the things that you can't control, but then recognize the things that you can control. We can control how we respond to events. So the same event can happen, but you can choose to take it negatively, or you can choose to be positive about it. You can choose your words, your thoughts, and your actions. You can choose to do something good or you can choose to self-sabotage or sabotage others. You have the power to choose love over fear in any given situation. You have the power to choose to be a good human being, instead of being someone that's overtaken by fear and panic and giving into all those negative emotions. You can control the way you feel. You can control which thoughts and which emotions to give into. A lot of the fear people have is the fear of uncertainty. They don't know where the world's going to be in a few months. They don't know if they're going to get sick if their loved one's going to get sick, if they're going to lose all their money or lose their jobs. People are scared and I get it, but that fear is based on something in the future that has not happened yet, and you can't control the future. You can't control something that hasn't happened. That's not in your sphere of influence. So you have to focus on what you can control in the present moment. The present moment is the only place that you have control over. You can't change the past and you can't control the future. There are so many unknowns, so focus on the moment in front of you. Do the best that you can. Make preparations. Stay informed. Everything is right here, right now, and anything outside of the right now is something that you cannot control. So you should not waste any time worrying about it.
3. Next, I want to touch on Cleansing your energy and finding inner calm during this time. So I want you to recognize that, even though the outside world is in turmoil, things are crazy and chaotic right now, you still have control over your inner world. You control the way you feel. You can regulate your emotions. Learning to regulate your emotions and not identify with your emotions is something that takes practice. It's like working a muscle, and it's a muscle that gets stronger by doing practices such as meditation. And people that meditate have that inner calm, inner zen. They have the practice to center themselves, even if everything outside is crazy, even if you feel all these emotions. And at this point, I do want to say that whatever you're feeling right now, your feelings are valid. Your emotions are valid. It's okay to feel fear. It's okay to be sad. It's okay to be angry. Whatever you're feeling, it's okay to feel it. But what I'm saying is: You want to feel the emotion. Express it in a healthy way. Don't take it out on other people. And then after you express your emotion, try to understand, “Okay, why did I feel that way? Where does it come from?”And then you can start to become more level-headed and calm and understand why you felt these emotions, but understand also that those emotions do not define you. You are just not an angry person, but you felt anger. Another point on this is if you are a sensitive person if you are empathic if you feel like you take on other people's emotions, this is a time to really do extra work to protect and cleanse your energy. I noticed that after reading all this news about the virus and politics and the racism, the things people are saying online, there was a day where I just had to cry it out. It was not because I felt sad for myself. It was because I was sad about the world and what people were going through. For some reason, I was able to take on these emotions of people, So I recognize that you need to release this heaviness in a healthy way, so you can do things like talking to people, talking it out with your friends, your loved ones, just to get it out. Journaling,.You need to find outlets to physically express your energy: exercise, sweat, dance, do yoga. Even singing or yelling and making weird noises can help get that energy out of your body. If you think about it, when you get mad, you are activating the fight or flight response in your body, the stress response –meaning your blood is flowing to your muscles, because your body is getting ready to fight, and that is not a healthy state to be in. And you know,.Another practice I already mentioned was meditation. Meditate to center yourself, to be aware of your thoughts and emotions, and recognize that those are not you. You are the calm, still, soul, and your thoughts and emotions are everything on the surface. So that helps too. Some people like to go out into nature. Some people like to use crystals or sage, things like that, to cleanse your energy. Another thing I should have said first is to actually reduce your screen time. If you feel like all of this is too much and it's too heavy, just put your phone away, get off the internet, and live in your life in the present moment. Find something else to occupy yourself with, something positive and healthy, a creative outlet.
4. Next, the virus has taught us that We are all interconnected. I think that's one of the biggest lessons that we are learning during this time, that your actions do not only affect you, it affects the people around you, which affects the people around them, which is this huge network that is our entire global world, not just the people, but also our ecosystems. So more and more we are learning that we cannot be selfish. We must think of others. We must think and care about other people to protect all of us, because we're literally all in this together, and it goes back to we are one human race. We are one global community on earth and we really have to come together, recognize that, stop fighting each other. Stop trying to hoard all the stuff for ourselves and protect only ourselves and let everybody else lose. It's not about that because hurting other people is hurting yourself in the bigger picture. That's what people are recognizing now. And that leads me to my next point, which is incredibly important, 
5. You are needed. You play a part in this community, this interconnected global community, whether you're doing your part just by staying home and staying safe, staying healthy, or whether you have a skill, something that you can contribute that's of value to the world. For me, my skill and my value are writing and sharing ideas that can possibly help people through my blog, and if you are doing anything, if you have any skill, anything to give, this is the time to give it because the world needs you. People out there need you. Whether it's just to entertain you are keeping people entertained and happy and laughing right now. Nothing is insignificant. Everyone plays a part. You and I are lights in this world, and what we really need to do is light up one by one. And when one person lights up, you naturally inspire the people around you to light up as well. But this is our chance to step up and do what we can collect. I really think this is a collective effort here. I can only do so much. We need every single person stepping up and shining their light. Now let's talk about
6.  the silver lining and grand purpose of it all, because I truly do believe that everything happens for a reason. And I know, that what we're going through is so terrible. A lot of people's lives are being lost. A lot of people's lives are negatively affected and it's going to be hard for a lot of us. So I totally understand that. But if you look at a person's life, we personally, each of us, have gone through so many difficult, challenging, even traumatic times. And the fact that we are still alive and breathing what you're doing right now, shows that you made it through that time and you are a stronger, wiser person because of it. And I'm seeing that this is what's happening on the bigger scale, that we are going through a major challenge together and this is something that's so unique. A pandemic like this doesn't happen super often. I think this is really intense and that's just telling me that when we are through this, we are going to be so much stronger and wiser collectively. Hopefully, we'll level up in our consciousness, in our awareness. Hopefully, we create better human beings after this, better systems.So nature is healing herself. I truly do believe that we're all staying in and we're healing ourselves within as well. I think something transformational is happening and we can't forget that. We can't forget that there is a silver lining and a greater purpose in all of this. And when you focus on that, when you recognize that, then you have more hope for the future, because I know right now some people might feel hopeless and scared, but remember that we will make it through this. We'll make it through this together and it's going to be okay in the end. We're going to be stronger and yes, a lot of lives are going to be lost and that's really, really sad. But hopefully, the lucky ones that are able to still be here after all of this, we are the ones to usher in a brighter future for us all because we've been through this. We've been through this together, we've suffered together, guys. This is our collective traumatic experience and I hope that we can heal from this, I really do. I have a quote to share with you all.

" It is during our darkest moments that we must focus on the light" - Aristotle

I hope that puts things in perspective for you guys. Again, I'm sending so much love to you all. Please stay safe, stay healthy, drink a lot of water, get a lot of rest, eat oranges, get some vitamin C into your system to boost your immunity. Laugh with your loved ones. Laughing boosts your immunity. Smiling, being happy, dancing, singing, having fun, do all those things. Do not forget that there's so much joy in life, and there's still so much more to live for, and we will get through this, okay?

Love you.Bye!