Tips for self-care at home?

[amastewa93]

I don't know about you all but the entire COVID-19 outbreak sent me into a pretty bad depression. I'm someone who is prone to depression anyway but having to stay inside so much and not interacting with other people has been rough.

How are you all making sure you're checking in with yourself mentally right now? Any good budget self-care tips?

[disneysteve]

Keep to a steady sleep/wake schedule. Have set hours.
Eat regular meals.
Go outside every day if possible. Take walks or even just sit out on the patio or deck. Get some fresh air and sunshine.
Exercise, whether it's that walk outside or a bike ride or a YouTube yoga class or workout video.

And connect with people! This one is super important especially if what you're missing most is human interaction. Thanks to all of the technology today, it's easier than ever. Cell phones, texting, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Zoom. I've lost count of how many Zoom meets I've participated in with people as close as the next town over and as far away as England and Australia. If you belong to any social types of groups, see if any of them are doing online virtual events. Two whiskey groups that we belong to have been doing Zoom happy hours. If nothing else, it gives us an opportunity to see and chat with some other people once or twice a week.

There are also all sorts of online free mental health resources that have popped up due to the crisis. Seek those out if needed.

[riverwed070707]

Hobbies. I've been doing SO MUCH READING and I love it. Cooking, gardening, getting out for walks with the dogs every day. Keeping some semblance of a schedule but not beating myself up about it if we fall off track. Putting down the phone has been a big one - making a point to have more conversations with our family instead of endlessly scrolling through social media. Honestly, I'm not hating it at all. Might move to a remote island when this is all done

[riverwed070707]

Glennon Doyle had a good social media post on self-care yesterday. If you google it, it will come up for FB, Twitter or whatever medium you use. Talks about self care being the work you do on the inside and not the outside.

[scfr]

I've done a little bit of guided journaling using prompts. I've never kept a journal before. I've found it very relaxing. I'm selective about which prompts I choose; I'm deliberately keeping it light, no heavy soul-searching.

I agree about walking if you can do it safely. I walk with my pup every day.

I really hope you find something that helps you. Hang in there.

[kork13]

I need to get this put on a shirt: "Running: Cheaper than Therapy" .... or maybe a bumper sticker.

Getting outside & being active and productive are what helps me the most. I'm the same, somewhat prone to depressive episodes at times, and exercise is almost always a key part of getting out of it. I'm very much an introvert, so I'm generally quite happy not having to deal with people all the time, but even I crave some human interaction sometimes. Going to work normally does it for me, but I've not really gone into work much at all since beginning of March. So I've not really cracked that nut, but as Steve said, a good way to go is connecting with interest groups you can get involved with.

[amastewa93]

Thanks, everyone! I've definitely been staying busy with some extra reading and I walk the pup plenty. Those things have definitely helped. I was also asked yesterday to be a more involved member of an online makeup group (makeup of all kinds is a hobby of mine). So, that should add some additional "interaction" into my life. Outside of that, I do have my husband here with me (we are in the same 500 sq ft studio apartment together all day though haha).

I am just not used to the low lows being so close to each other and so drawn out. Thanks for everyone's ideas. (I've been working on sticking to a schedule the past two weeks and it DOES seem to help a bit, so I'll definitely keep that up).

[bjl584]

I haven't had much of an issue actually.

I have 2 1/2 acres of property at home with lots of fruit trees, berry bushes, a pool, etc.
So, plenty to keep me occupied at home.

We also have a cabin in the mountains a couple hours from home, so near endless projects to do there.

I haven't had any issues keeping myself busy.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Walking a lot even in the rain and cold. I always walked the dog but he's getting longer and longer walks to move me into gear and to just mentally come back. I listen to podcasts a lot.

[amastewa93]

I haven't had much of an issue actually.

I have 2 1/2 acres of property at home with lots of fruit trees, berry bushes, a pool, etc.
So, plenty to keep me occupied at home.

We also have a cabin in the mountains a couple hours from home, so near endless projects to do there.

I haven't had any issues keeping myself busy.

I wish we had even a balcony or a patio to sit out on. That would probably make this a bit easier. We live in a 500 sq ft studio apartment in a highrise in Atlanta. As you can imagine, all the possible projects to do in the 500 sq ft got finished fairly quickly. Our building has also placed some pretty stiff rules on the residents. We haven't been permitted outside guests at all and we are also not permitted to sit in the common areas right now. Looking at the same four walls will get to you sometimes - haha.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I wish we had even a balcony or a patio to sit out on. That would probably make this a bit easier. We live in a 500 sq ft studio apartment in a highrise in Atlanta. As you can imagine, all the possible projects to do in the 500 sq ft got finished fairly quickly. Our building has also placed some pretty stiff rules on the residents. We haven't been permitted outside guests at all and we are also not permitted to sit in the common areas right now. Looking at the same four walls will get to you sometimes - haha.

I'm sorry. How much longer?

[disneysteve]

I wish we had even a balcony or a patio to sit out on. That would probably make this a bit easier.

That makes getting outdoors even more important. Every day you possibly can, get outside. Take a walk or even just find a place to sit and read a book or play on your phone or something.

[amastewa93]

I'm sorry. How much longer?

Thankfully, my husband is returning to work on Monday so we can go back to some kind of routine again. But the HOA in the building has been debating when they'll lift the restrictions. They are supposed to revisit them June 1st to see if there is a "safe way" to start allowing visitors and reopening the common areas.

[amastewa93]

That makes getting outdoors even more important. Every day you possibly can, get outside. Take a walk or even just find a place to sit and read a book or play on your phone or something.

Absolutely! If I could work outside, I would haha. The dog has definitely been getting more walks.

[Goldy1]

Cooking healthy meals with vegetables. Makes me feel good about that. Hiking