Remaining Hopeful Amidst a Pandemic

Sponsored by The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

t’s been over seven months since quarantine in Michigan started. Over the course of seven months, a lot can happen – I lost my job, filed for unemployment, watched a lot of TikToks, obsessed over Tiger King, watched the entirety of Schitt’s Creek, convinced myself I had COVID-19 twice (I didn’t), went through a baking phase, started water coloring, got my job back, and that’s only what currently comes to mind.

2020 has been a crazy year! And there have been times, when I have felt very alone, regardless of living with my parents and sisters. When we experience these feelings of isolation, it is oh so easy to believe that we are alone. I’m here to tell you though, that we are all in this together. Yes, we may be apart from one another, but we stand together. 

Here’s the thing – We all want the state to reopen fully, but to do so, we all need to do our part to ensure that. That means:

• Wear a mask – Scientists and doctors agree that cloth masks and face coverings can reduce the spread by about 70%.
• Maintain a six-foot distance – Give yourself and other people a healthy distance.
• Wash your hands – Please wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds when possible. If you’re out and about and don’t have the ability to stop into a bathroom to wash your hands, use hand sanitizer.
• Don’t touch your face – By not touching your face you are avoiding transferring bacteria and germs to your face.
• Avoid large gatherings – It doesn’t matter if the gathering is outside or inside, there is the potential for the virus to be spread.
• If you’re feeling symptomatic get tested. It’s that easy.

By now though, we know these safety protocols to take care of our health. However, some of us may still be at a loss when it comes to taking care of our emotional, spiritual, and mental wellbeing.  And hope might be the very thing we need. We want to #SpreadHopeNotCOVID. So, this is how I have been maintaining my hopefulness:

Investing Time In My Spiritual Well Being

I realize not everyone subscribes to a faith and that’s cool! But being spiritual is more than connecting with a higher power. Connecting with this part of yourself can involve meditation, yoga, breathwork, journaling, or stepping out into nature. While I did choose prayer, I also chose to take walks in nature. There’s a beautiful nature center close to my home, and on days where I needed to get out of the house and let go of everything going wrong in the world, I would just walk, be in nature, and that was therapeutic. 

Checking In With Myself and Others

I am an anxious person. There is stress, and there is stress that graduates up to anxiety. Unfortunately, this unprecedented time in the world has brought out a lot of anxious feelings within me, but I am also a person who tends to bottle up their feelings. It’s not a good combination – I recognize that, and so I force myself to check-in with myself. I will block out a chunk of time, and reflect while performing various acts of self-care. Basically, it’s like self-soothing. It allows my mind to slow down, I can take stock, and take care of my body. 

There have been many upsets to our lives since the pandemic started and being separated from friends truly hit me hard. Yet, it allowed me to be intentional with the community of friends I have formed. The pandemic has made communications with my friends feel all the more special and we are now sharing things with one another – our fears and hopes – that we hadn’t shared before. I highly recommend orchestrating a Zoom call with your friends, grabbing your favorite beverage, and just chatting it up.

Finding Time To Do The Things I Love

Remember that long list of things that happened to me/that I have done so far in quarantine? Yeah, watching TikToks, Tiger King, Schitt’s Creek, baking, watercolors, those are all things that I truly enjoy doing. You know what else I love doing? Going on road trips! So for my birthday this year, I went on a solo road trip on M-22, the most beautiful stretch of highway in Michigan. Don’t worry though, I did follow social distance protocols. These safety guidelines don’t have to be viewed as restrictive, you can still abide by them, be safe, and do the things you love. Here’s another example: It’s my favorite season, Fall! And there are so many things I love to do in the Fall, such as visiting a sunflower farm, picking apples at an orchard, going to a pumpkin patch. Instead of sitting at home moping about, I can go outside, follow the guidelines that have been set, and enjoy myself doing the things that I love. 

My friends, what I am trying to say is that there is hope amidst this strange time. Hope can come in the form of taking a walk in nature, praying, performing self-care, chatting with friends over Zoom, and being smart with our and others health when doing the things we love. #SpreadHopeNotCOVID, and remember to wear a mask, keep a six-foot distance, and wash your hands! For more information from The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, click here.