Greetings all,
The times are “strange” indeed. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything – right now. As I write this I am following our Pinellas county elected leader’s request that non-essential services/businesses close for a time by staying at home. While I consider what I do to be vital and important I do not think it rises to the level of first responders, hospital workers, physicians, grocery store workers, etc., (there are many). I know many of my clients are home waiting for the emergency to end, and some others are needed to work thru the emergency. Times are stressful. The news media is constantly pumping out info on the emergency. Heck, even the empty streets remind us that this is an extraordinary situation in which we are living.
I am hoping I can still be of service to my valued clients and anyone else that reads this blog post while I am home-bound. So let me remind all my clients, or anyone reading this, that I am available. If you need to talk about what you are experiencing, are immersed in a crisis, scared, whatever, you can call me. I am not a fan of video/phone counseling but this health emergency requires me to adapt as well as you. So call me and we can set something up to get together. I am not concerned with reimbursement during this emergency (unless we need to set up reoccurring video appointments until my office opens back up). SO CALL ME IF YOU NEED ME!!
As you go thru your day please allow me to remind you of some coping skills to lower your stress and to enhance your resilience for coping thru these strange times. Deep breathing: eyes closed, hand on belly, in thru the nose, out thru the mouth for 1-3 minutes. 3×3 grounding ( https://youtu.be/ad7HqXEc2Sc ), visual imagery of a safe place, progressive muscle relaxation, and last but certainly not least, prayer(!). Do one or all of these simple and quick interventions thru the day so as to keep your stress level down to a level that you can cope and be intentional versus reactive.
If you are home for a while, maybe you can kind find some ways to make this time a blessing rather than a curse. Spend more time attending to spiritual matters in the morning and/or evening. Read that book you always wanted to read. Allot some time to completing a couple of chores you haven’t had time to do. Take a walk in the sun. Work on a recipe you have been wanting to cook (assuming you can find the supplies). Make an outside picnic at home for you and your family. Call friends and encourage them. Call a senior citizen and encourage them. Write a letter. And a favorite: binge that TV show you haven’t had time to watch!!!! Whatever you do don’t allow yourself to fall back into bad habits such as too much sleep, not enough sleep, boredom, abuse, drugs, or alcohol.
So that’s it for now. Be well, stay classy, stay healthy, take care of one another. Holler if you need to talk.
Rick