Keeping Spirits Up

Even before Coronavirus hit and many of us started “sheltering in place,” we had been struggling on and off with a sense of isolation. Since Cassie’s diagnosis, our life and routines have changed so much that we’ve had to consistently pay attention to our emotional health and sense of connectedness. 

We’ve learned (and are still learning) that keeping spirits up in a time of isolation and fear can be challenging. At the same time, we need to do our best not to spiral and succumb to feelings of loneliness, sadness and lack of purpose.

Here’s how we are trying to manage in the face of even greater isolation right now.

Focus on gratitude – even in the midst of this current pandemic crisis, we’ve got much to be thankful for. Safe shelter, plenty of food, access to good healthcare, ability to work less, just to name a few. So many others are facing huge obstacles. That leads us to thinking about…

Leaning into generosity – how can we help those who need help? We are donating to organizations on the front lines. We are buying restaurant gift certificates. We are responding to friend’s fundraising appeals for organizations they support. Supporting others is a good way to get out of our own heads and stay connected.

Connect with friends and family – one benefit of technology and being constantly connected is that although you can’t be with friends in person you can call, text, facetime, zoom, etc. It’s a blessing. We’ve both got a couple of virtual happy hours planned and all of our nieces and nephews should be watching their mailboxes for some help with the quarantine blues.

Exercise – Dan joined a health club here and it is still open but that doesn’t seem right. (No amount of bleach wipes can make that safe.) So, we’re opting to walk and walk and walk. It’s not even early afternoon and Dan has exceeded 10,000 steps. (Cassie will get hers later!) Doc loves these long walks.

Do projects – if we were home Cassie would be cleaning closets, scrubbing floors and emptying cupboards. But, since we’re in a rental house there is less of this to do. So, we are going to try to finish our death plans (both of us). Lots of letter writing is also in our immediate future. And, we’re posting a daily picture on Dan’s instagram page because not all projects have to be big ones!

Build in time together – Even though we are together almost constantly (here and at home), we’re still often doing our own things. Reading, Dan working, on calls with friends, etc. So, we wanted to build in some mandatory connecting time. We’ve decided to make it our mission to attempt the New York Times crossword puzzle each day. And, we’re committed to making our way through the 100 best movies of all time as named by the American Film Institute (https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies-10th-anniversary-edition/). We just watched Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner last night. We’d highly recommend it.

Isolation is lonely. The unknown is scary. Our spirits can easily sag. All of that is natural but we are learning that creativity, invention and silliness can become natural too if we focus on them.  If there are things you are doing to keep your spirits up we’d love to hear! Please share in the comments.