She's probably distancing herself from me as we speak.
Stay away from me!
Don't touch me.
I'm distancing.
I'm...I'm sorry.
I feel like I'm losing my mind.
Wash your hands, Kevin.
No handshaking, staying home when you're sick.
Therefore, my administration is recommending that all Americans, including the young and
healthy, work to engage
in schooling from home when possible,
avoid gathering in groups of more than ten people,
avoid discretionary travel,
and avoid eating and drinking in bars, restaurants,
and public food courts.
In the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably
made a few adjustments to your life
as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Like, for me, I moved the TV into the office
so Alie and I can play video games
and work on our computers in the same room
so that we can keep each other company.
I’m working from home now
and have to do all of my therapy sessions through video.
Like, this is quite literally
what all of my clients see.
But since I need privacy...
that means Alie set up her office in another room .
What?
Now I exercise in the garage instead of going to the gym.
And we’ve stocked up on food and other necessities so that we can limit our
contact with the outside world.
All in all, we’ve got it pretty good right now.
But you know what the hardest part is?
Social distancing.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love having no commute
and eating lunch at home
and, in general, I’m more of an introvert, so
there’s a lot of advantages to this whole thing.
But at the same time,
it’s still weird not feeling safe around other people.
Or even going outside.
You know, I've done a lot of sessions this week and
most of my clients have come in
saying that they've been suffering from constant anxiety.
And I’m not surprised.
I mean, it is an extremely stressful time right now.
But that constant anxiety can lead you to feel panicky
or tired or depressed or just overwhelmed.
It’s draining.
But we’re just trying to cope.
You may have found some temporary fixes yourself
like sleeping in,
binging TV shows,
wearing pajama pants all day.
Or no pants.
Or even drinking or using other drugs more often just to distract yourself.
And those may things may work for now,
but most likely they won’t get you out of that “slump” that you feel.
I’ve definitely felt the slump at times.
And that's part of the reason why I’m making this video is because
I want to feel like I’m doing something and helping out.
So let me put on my therapist cap and tell you a few ways that you can cope with social
distancing so we can starve out this horrible virus together.
Virtually, of course.
First things first,
take a freaking break, alright?
Put your phone away, leave it alone,
log off of social media, get out of there,
whatchya doing, bud?
Just take a breather, alright?
I get it.
It’s great to stay informed.
But we’ve all been inundated with a lot of information about coronavirus lately, so
don’t let it continue to affect your mental health.
There’s this cognitive bias known as the "mean world syndrome" where,
essentially, if you’re trapped inside all day and you consume a lot of
scary and violent news,
like the stuff that we see about COVID-19,
you’re gonna think the outside world is terrifying and dangerous.
Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed or overly pessimistic because
you can’t help but read article after article about the effects of the virus.
You’re not doing yourself any favors,
and things are not normal, so just lay off of it for a bit, okay?
That leads me to my second point, which is:
try to build a routine.
Sure, you’re not required to brush your teeth or put on deodorant or wear work clothes.
And sometimes it can be fun to skimp on those responsibilities.
But it can also lead you to feeling worse.
Some of my clients have talked about
being worried about slipping back into depression because, how they’re acting now
is how they acted then.
They’re staying in their room, laying in bed, eating junk food,
watching Netflix for hours because
they can.
But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
So pull out a piece of paper
or your calendar and
plan your days.
Wake up at a certain time, eat healthy meals,
get dressed daily, keep a regular sleep schedule.
Just build in that normalcy.
The content doesn’t matter as much as the structure does.
It’ll break up that sluggish monotony and make you feel better about yourself.
This next one sort of goes with the whole routine idea, which is:
do things that make you happy.
You know, although COVID-19 is doing a lot of harm right now and is keeping you inside,
it doesn’t mean that we have to stagnate.
Maybe you have hobbies that you really enjoy or things you’ve always wanted to try.
Now might be the perfect time.
But that also doesn’t mean you need to do everything, right?
So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated,
then just start small and build from there.
So, for example, if you want to learn how to code,
maybe you could make a mini-goal of just signing up for a lesson and doing the first one.
Or if you want to read more, then you could just pick a book and read for fifteen minutes.
It’s really up to you in terms of how far you want to take it.
You know, for me right now,
I’m just trying to get this fur to look somewhat decent.
You know, I realize that as I’m saying this
that there are a lot of people out there who feel bad for not being able to do all the
things that they really want to do, too.
Like maybe you haven’t been very productive at work or in school.
But you know what?
It’s okay to not be your most productive during a freaking pandemic.
You can cut yourself some slack,.
But when you’re ready,
progress in your personal life will help counterbalance that cabin fever that you’re feeling from
not having as much physical freedom.
Speaking of which,
my next tip is:
get some gosh dang exercise.
Now listen,
I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but
physical exercise is probably one of the best thing you can do for your mental health.
It has wide-ranging positive effects for everybody who does it.
And yeah, you’re probably just, like,
blowing off this advice right now because
exercising takes time and a little bit of effort, but
you will feel better.
For bonus points, do it out in nature.
I made a whole video about how nature is good for your mental health, which you can check
out in the corner as well as down in the description, but
yes, exercise!
Alie and I hiked a few miles in the desert last week and it was amazing.
10 out of 10, would recommend, so
go to a park,
go to a beach,
just...take a stroll down a street that has a few trees on it.
Doesn't matter.
Just make sure you're staying at least six feet away from everybody else and avoid unnecessary
risk and travel and you'll be good to go.
Although physical distancing is necessary at this time,
it doesn’t mean you need to become a hermit, right?
So my other piece of advice is:
don’t socially isolate yourself.
Even though you can’t see people in person,
which is terrible, that doesn’t mean you can’t stay connected.
You could set up calls or a video chat with your family,
or host a game night with your friends,
or send messages through your window to your neighbors.
I don't know, just get creative with it.
You could even build this into your schedule and have regular appointments.
I mean, you’re not alone in this, right?
And we're all sort of going through a similar situation, so
reach out for that support.
Or be the one to offer that support to people who really need it.
And last but definitely not least,
use your coping skills.
This will be different for every person, but
essentially do the things that will help you the most.
So, focus on the positives or
use humor to your advantage or
accept that the coronavirus situation will change rapidly
or find ways to relax.
If you’re looking for some resources, I’ve made a list of apps in the description below
that will help with stress management.
And just for the heck of it, I’ll throw up a link to a guided meditation that I did
a while back right up here and also in the description.
Also, if you need ideas for how to spend your time,
I'll put a few links in the description of coping skills and activities that you can
do while we ride out this curve.
And if you’re still struggling, I’ve also added info for the Crisis Text Line,
which is staffed by counselors who are specifically prepared for this and who are ready to talk
to you about coronavirus anxiety.
So how about you?
How are you coping with social distancing?
Let me know down in the comments below
and if you leave a comment that has an idea
about how to cope, I'll try to go through and
favorite them so that we can sort of
create a resource of ideas to help each other out.
You know, we are going to get through this together, eventually.
We've just got to take it one day at a time.
I’m Micah, and until next time...
Wash your hands.