It's challenging to think that it takes a global pandemic to force us to prioritize our health and wellness, but instead of dwelling on the past, I am encouraging my clients to use this time to create a healthy and sustainable wellness routine — for the pandemic and beyond.However, in these stressful and uncertain times adding on even more to our busy schedule can feel overwhelming and even somewhat paralyzing. In this article I'll guide you through the tools and strategies I use with my clients to create a routine that works for you, enabling you to prioritize your wellness during a pandemic.
The abrupt appearance of the novel coronavirus in late 2019 brought with it a health crisis that quickly swept across the globe. Millions were confined to their homes in an attempt to flatten the curve, but the virus continued to spread quickly, sickening millions and killing hundreds of thousands. The physical toll has been stunning, but the effects on our mental health have been insidious and no less serious. In these days of social distancing and Zoom meetings, self-hypnosis offers a creative solution to stress management and holistic healing.
It's Week 21 here, and I am still here — sitting in my corner bedroom, typing away at a makeshift desk. And my children are here, too. Nope, they haven't gone anywhere. Can't you hear that howling in the background as I smile into the webcam and conduct our meeting, pretending everything is ok, and that I have smoothly embraced my new normal?That howling, the wailing, the laughing, the shouting, the screaming — that's the soundtrack of the life of a working mother, now available for all of you to download and hear.
We know that all of these things, from illness to job loss to systemic racism, hit the Black community harder, making it even more essential to develop a self-care routine that centers our own physical and mental well-being in ways that are practical yet effective.
I have been a single mom for the better part of my 20-year-old son's life. And for the past 10 years of it, I have had virtually no help in raising him. I made this single mom thing work by prioritizing my son and his needs above all else. Next came the job, because, well, I had to pay the bills, and lastly came me. Always.
Since starting my entrepreneurship journey almost three years ago, running my own PR agency from all over the world, my weekends disappeared. I replaced brunch and lazy mornings with crafting media pitches, strategies, and research. Sure, I enjoyed my weekends and did fun things, but work was still a priority. When you are a business owner, the stakes are high, and taking a full day off (let alone two) seems wrong. There is always something more that can be done and life becomes an endless cycle of to-do lists. Then COVID-19 disrupted the world
Amidst a time of global turmoil, I had finally acknowledged the turbulence in my own life and confronted the truth about my own feelings on what I had been feeling for a long time now. I was down and lonely and needed change. The solution I found demanded creativity on my part and a little flexibility in approach, but I wasn't alone in doing this.
Iwrote Be That Unicorn: Find Your Magic, Live Your Truth, Share Your Shine for one simple reason. Because I could feel the need for it in the world. Life is not easy. Hopefully it has lots of opportunities to be happy, fulfilling, and fun. But easy, it is not.