Things still suck (but hey, you're not alone)

Dear Clients, Colleagues, Mentors, & Friends,

After a few weeks of shock and grief, we are starting to pick up the pieces of whatever this is, and put one foot in front of the other.  Gradually we are starting to figure out how to structure our day and be more productive or at least understand what productivity looks like in this quarantine life. 

One of my most cherished parts of being a therapist is being able to see similar themes and patterns that everyone is going through right now. It is normalizing and validating to see that others are struggling just like we are. Here are some big topics coming up in therapy over the past weeks.

• Grief & Loss: grieving the loss of plans and images for our year like weddings, graduations, vacation, birth plans, and launching/growing a business.

• Also literal grief (losing people to illness, not being able to visit loved ones in hospitals/nursing homes)

• The high pitch of fear and anxiety in the backdrop, causing lack of creativity and motivation

• Survivor guilt- feeling bad about doing well (financially, grateful to not be alone)

• How to lead when you are impacted too and dealing with depression, low motivation, etc.

• Building distress tolerance: learning to sit with uncomfortable feelings and or uncertainty

If you or someone you know is feeling depressed, anxious, hopeless, or having relationship issues, schedule a free 15 minute video or phone consultation with me today. I am here serving couples and individuals to create healthy habits and take good care of themselves during this extremely hard time.

Interested in reading more of my posts? Head over to my blog to catch my other newsletters and posts related to COVID-19 and also all sorts of other things! Are you interested in reading about money and how to be empowered with it? Or perhaps you've been leaning on the wine a little too much these are days and are wondering if you might need to cut back? Maybe you are having a tough time relating to your partner or family member right now and could use some tips on how to communicate better? It's all over on my blog so check it out!

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Here are some observations I’ve made about some of the ways people are adapting to #quaratinelife:
Introverts and homebodies are adapting... kind of well
People who naturally like to stay home, watch Netflix, cook food, read—and especially those with social anxiety—are finding that quarantine actually suits them in many ways and reduces their anxiety.
Extroverts are adapting.. less well
People who love to fill their day from sunrise to sunset are having a difficult time adjusting to working from home and not having in-person social contact.
People are finding ways to workout at home
From ordering weights, bikes, treadmills, and rowers to finding trainers offering free or donation based workouts online, to using wine bottles, and soup cans as weights, I love how creative people are getting with workout.
Some people are enjoying working from home
…so much so that they are considering how to move their business completely or partially online.
Increased social contact with video calls
People are finding themselves having phone and video chats with people they don’t usually get to talk to and in some cases even having more social contact than before COVID. Maybe even too much...?

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Here are some resources/tips that are helping me and my clients survive the suck right now:

• Gratitude Practice/Journaling

• Get dressed everyday even if only into other lounge clothes. I like to call it getting into my “day-wear” and “night-wear” and make a small fuss of it.

• Sleep in sometimes…why not?!

• Netflix parties. I haven’t done this yet but seems its a good idea.

• Video calls with friends

• Giving myself a break from trying to be productive

• Sitting quietly and feeling my feelings good and bad

• Working with RAIN for intense and difficult states of mind

• Daily practices to relax my body (meditation, stretching, yoga, foam rolling)

• Yoga streaming classes with Birgitte on Youtube

• This podcast episode from Reverend Rob Bell

• This podcast episode from How to Fail featuring Alain de Botton

• The 5 Stages of Grieving

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If you or anyone you know is struggling right now and could use someone to talk to, book a free video or phone consultation here. I treat depression; anxiety; relationship issues; I work with couples and individuals to create healthy and thriving relationships; and I help my clients develop self-care plans and healthy habits to create a relationship and life that they love.

Lots of love, embrace the suck, or at least just know that you are not alone. And don't forget to head over to my blog to read up on COVID-19, Online Therapy, Relationship and Communication Stuff, and more.

And if you made it this far, thanks for reading this way too long email!

Becky

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