By now, many of us know the drill to stay safe during the 2020 pandemic: Wash hands, wear a mask, and social distancing. But what about our mind, body, and spirit?
“My lab’s study found the best recipe for dealing with everyday stressors is to try to simultaneously plan ahead about what you can control and stay in the moment mindfully.” —Shevan D. Neupert, Ph.D, “How to Soothe Your Soul,” August 2020 Consumer Reports
The activities listed to soothe your soul in this article are the same as the restorative activities in the resource section of The Write Spot: Writing as a Path to Healing.
~ Prepare and plan. “Tasks that distract you now but also benefit you in the future are wonderful.” — Joyce A. Corsica, Ph.D, “How to Soothe Your Soul,” August 2020 Consumer Reports
If you are working on a writing project, plan for the result. If you are submitting your writing to a publication, start with a projected date, then work backward to establish goal dates.
Use the same strategy if you are publishing a book. Target a date for completion to send to an agent, or to self-publish. Work backward to set need-to-finish-by dates.
First draft completed, revision completed, beta readers, proofread, ms to editor, etc.
If you want to write, but haven’t started a project, start with a freewrite. Choose one of the prompts on The Write Spot Blog and just write.
~Just write freely with no worries about the outcome.
~ Nurture in nature. Walk outside. Open your door and breathe in fresh air, if you can. Look at nature out a window . . . a tree, a lawn, a garden. Go on a virtual tour of national parks.
~ Listen to music to soothe your soul or put on lively music.
~ Dance or move with the groove. Check out The World Groove Movement.
~Stretch.
~ Yoga. There are many free yoga youtube instructions.
~ Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).
~ Hypnotherapy for relaxation and stress reduction.
~Searching for “help with stress” online resulted in 899,000,000 results. Overwhelming, yes. But you might find something to help with stress that you hadn’t thought of.
Good luck with managing your stress during these turbulent times.
I’m hanging in there with you.
