When the month of March started you were probably hopeful for Spring and looking forward to watching sports such as the NBA, NCAA and the beginning of professional baseball. Just maybe you were getting excited to start your garden or plan your vacation. Then Coronavirus stepped in and took our breath away, literally. Our generation or others younger than us have never faced such a pandemic. We are making history, and we are not sure what this means. It is a scary place sometimes as we watch the news and the fear builds. How do we focus on the positive and stay safe for our aging parents and ourselves for that matter? This is an uncharted course and we need positivity. Where do we start?
Ways to Not be Overwhelmed During this Time of a Crisis
- Stay at Home and Love It. It is not a punishment to be home. It is for your safety and to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus). Take this time to slow down and reach out to your aging parents. Aging adults are at the high end of the risk factor of getting this disease. So if you cannot visit them directly, call them and keep in touch. Technology has made multiple avenues available to help us communicate with our loved ones without putting their health at risk with an in person visit. Take advantage of the technology, and stay in touch with aging parents and loved ones.
- Catch up on Reading Books You have Been Waiting to Read. Oftentimes we write down or keep a list of articles or books we would like to read. We mark those items with the title, “someday when I have time or things slow down.” Well, not by choice, you now have a lot of time alone to read and indulge in those articles or books. It is a great time to share with others with an online book club or chat. Take in some hours with a good story. You might even expand your knowledge base.
- Embrace Exercise Virtually or Stroll in the Park. Even though we are quarantined during this time of unrest and unknown, we can still exercise our bodies. There are countless online groups that you can talk with and exercise together and enjoy companionship without physically meeting. You can also do online classes, as many gyms or clubs are offering online fitness classes to keep people healthy and on the move. Isolation does not mean you have to be sedentary. Be creative and keep moving to keep your body in the best possible health.
- Eat Healthy to keep your Body Strong. As always, a good diet keeps everything functioning properly. You need to feed the machine healthy choices and not look at quarantine time as a snack time. While you are not with everyone, it is a good time to experiment in the kitchen and try something new you have wanted to make. Remember if your loved ones cannot get out, you can leave a new healthy dish at their door for them to have a nice treat too. Be adventurous and try the latest dishes you have wanted to taste.
Engage Your Mind with a New Game. Every day you can engage your mind and keep it healthy with diet, reading and a good game to challenge you. There are countless apps online from Scrabble to the Memory Game to keep your brain alert and active. Learn a new game or maybe if you are quarantined with a family member you can play something like Monopoly or cards. Engaging the mind keeps the worry at bay and helps keep you strong and healthy.
These are just a few tips to keep you moving and alert to be healthy at a time where we need to keep calm and remain physically isolated from others. It is not fun by any means to have to figure out how to keep happy and positive in a time of unknowns, but being happy and looking at the bright side makes it a little more bearable. Do you need help or guidance with your aging parents or loved ones? Give Ann a call at Senior Living Options today, and she will help you with your questions or concerns.
