Self Care During Quarantine
By now, most of us have stocked up on essentials and are preparing to hunker down for the foreseeable future. But during this stressful time, we need to remember the importance of self care during quarantine.
Self Care During Quarantine
Have you been to the store and found it’s emptied out of bread and bread items? I went to get some extra bread today but found the shelves absolutely empty. But we have flour and yeast at home and I can make some Kid-Friendly Homemade Bread for Sandwiches. Baking is actually an amazing stress reliever!
While we are home waiting for the word that this virus is no longer an immediate threat can be stressful and frustrating. This is why we need to find activities to keep us busy and sane and relaxed. Baking is a wonderful stress reliever if you have the supplies!
It’s been proven that baking can bring a host of psychological benefits, one of which is stress relief. The stress many of us are feeling right now is related to a host of mental and physical problems, and finding ways to cope with that stress is important for leading a healthy life. Baking can help with that.
What Kinds of Meals Should I Make While Quarantined?
While we are being asked to stay home and practice social distancing (it sounds like a dance move) and basically quarantine ourselves, it may feel stressful thinking about how to feed our families. But if you can come up with some meal ideas and a flexible meal plan that incorporates a lot of the same ingredients you will be in great shape!
I kind of saw the writing on the wall a few weeks ago in regards to coronavirus and starting stocking up on pantry items like boxed tomatoes, dried beans, chicken stock and freezer vegetables. I also made sure to buy extra meat each time I went to the store and put it in the freezer.
Here are some of my meal ideas I came up with based on the ingredients we have:
- Easy UnStuffed Pepper Casserole
- One Pot Vegetarian Chili Mac and Cheese
- 1-Pot Golden Curry Lentil Soup
- Crockpot Meatballs
- Turkey Chili
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Cheesy Mexican Lentils, Beans and Rice
- Vegetable Biryani
- Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipe
- Vegetarian Indian Rice and Potatoes
Check out this post for Homemade Hand Sanitizer with Alcohol
Self Care Tips During a Quarantine
Do you feel like the only thing on the news now is about Coronavirus (COVID 19)? Every time we turn on the tv or open up the news app on our phones it’s all about corona virus and quarantines and lockdowns. This is super scary, not only for the adults but the kids too.
Here are some great ways to take care of yourself while we are asked to stay home and away from others outside of our household.
- Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting
- Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate
- Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs
- Read some books – here’s a great list of books to read.
- Go outside for a walk
- Brew some tea and color
- Have a picnic
- Make some popcorn and have a movie marathon
- Put together those puzzles you have sitting around.
- Do some early-spring gardening
- Start a new hobby
- Take a bath and listen to music
- Do some yoga
- Declutter your house.
- Take a walk and photograph everything
- Write down what you are grateful for
- Send a postcard or letter to a friend or family member
Re-assess your priorities
Obviously during this time of quarantine and coronavirus, not everyone is able to work from home. Not everyone is able to take care of their families the way they normally do. I know I went way over my food budget this month trying to make sure we have what we need for the coming weeks, and I already feel stressed over running out of bananas and bread. But this is also a time to slow down. My friend that lives in Vermont just wrote this message below so eloquently today and she gave me permission to share.
She works at Gardener’s Supply in Vermont, a company that is no stranger to healthy living, balanced priorities and helping others. Check out their Garden to Give program where they help organize fresh produce donations from gardeners to their local food pantry.
The World on Pause
I heard someone on the radio today say that this may be the only time in our lives we collectively experience the “world on pause.” Think about it. How much more time do we now have to slow down, be home more, wear pajamas all day, or play outside with our kids as long as they want instead of rushing them off to the the next event. Typically weekends are even busier than weekdays in our over scheduled lives.
If you know me- you know that I am extremely extroverted and the idea of working more from home or being inside a house all day terrified me… until that one moment of serendipity when I happened to hear another perspective from some random guy on a radio station that my scan stopped on.
I don’t know what will happen- will my kids’ school be closed? Will it be safer for those I work with to stay home some days as we control the office density? Will being at work while so many will be at home seem like some creepy apocalyptic nightmare? Will I or my loved ones get sick?
I do know what will happen- We will grow. The best growth comes from disruption. I will learn to slow down, maybe relax, try not to control everything and look at social distancing as a blessing for my busy mind instead of like the jail cell I imagined it to be.
The pressure is off. The trip we planned in April is off. That re-routed plan is off too. Even driving to see family in neighboring states is off. The world is getting smaller for all of us for this brief moment in our lives when we all have only experienced it enlarging exponentially since our births. Things will pause and we will turn inward. We will be closer to the people that live next to us, we will accept slower service and not be upset if next day delivery is not available. We will accept that those companies with stellar service will have to compromise those standards – and we, for the first time- will forgive them for it. We may even buy a gift card from a local restaurant to use later instead of eating there now when maybe we should stay away- just to keep them afloat.
Don’t shut down- but take the time to look within- organize those things that you have put off because your two hour commute may now be over. Tend to your garden because the empty shelves have reminded us that we started off by growing our own food to begin with. It is spring – so take the time to plant your seeds.
Maybe we are meant to learn more than how to manage our fear. Maybe we are meant to learn that slowing down is what the human race needs after all.
Over 100 Delicious Healthy Recipes for Your Family
The Best Books to Read that will Fulfill Your Life
Homemade Hand Sanitizer with Alcohol
