Back in the winter when the first shut-downs and stay-at-home orders were being put in place, I felt like “Sure, I can do this for the next 4 weeks.” When the orders were extended, it was irritating, and frustrating, but I did it anyway. But now it’s July 24, 2020, and the pandemic cases are exploding in the United States and around the world. Thankfully, cases are only slowly increasing where I live. However, I’m struggling with this seemingly never-ending of pandemic.
My energy tank is almost on empty. From what I’m reading, others are struggling, too. How is your energy holding up? Are you finding this pandemic to be exhausting? So how do we cope for the long haul with a pandemic and our chronic illnesses?
Be Intentional With Coping Strategies
I started thinking about the long-term effects of this pandemic on my health when I read Cynthia Covert’s blog post called Could Pandemic Stress Be The Cause of Your Increased Chronic Pain? According to Cynthia:
The stress connection hit me during a wellness check-in with my chronic pain-fighting Facebook group. Someone mentioned their increase in pain and how they are focusing on their mental health. It was their comment that made me reflect upon my current emotional health status. And friends, it wasn’t good!!
While I thought I was handling the extra stress fairly well, my body has not agreed with my mind. My fibromyalgia started flaring last month and is still acting up. My stomach is not happy with anything I eat. Everything hurts, and I am so tired all the time.
Cynthia’s post reminded me that I need to be more intentional with my self-care and coping strategies. Hit or miss just isn’t working anymore. Below is a list of posts to help you think about how you’re doing during this pandemic. I hope you find the information helpful on your journey.
Coping Resources For Pandemic Fatigue
Emotions
- I wrote a post about coping with painful emotions in January 2017. https://www.upbeatliving.net/emotional-resilience/
2. Also, I wrote a review of a book called Resilience: Powerful Practices for Bouncing Back from Disappointment, Difficulty, and Even Disaster by Linda Graham, MFT. I’ve started re-reading it, and using some of her exercises. https://www.upbeatliving.net/resilience-powerful-practices-bouncing-back-disappointment-difficulty-disaster/
Here is a quick exercise from Ms. Graham’s book to get you started:
Savor A Moment Of Relief: Let your body sigh; exhale deeply, releasing tension from your body. A deep sigh (or several sighs) is the body’s natural way to reset the nervous system. You can practice responding to any moment of tension, even a frightening one, with a deliberate sigh to shift your physiology into a relieved and more relaxed state.
Did you try sighing? It’s remarkably calming.
Distractions
3. Alice at Notebooks & Glasses recently wrote about some of her favorite things helping her get through this pandemic. I want to check out the Go2 Inhaler B. Calm Stick that she mentions. You can read her post here: https://notebooksandglasses.com/a-few-of-my-favourite-things-that-are-helping-me-right-now/
4. Liz at Despite Pain, shared this post in April about coping with being stuck at home and isolating. It is still relevant today. https://despitepain.com/2020/04/03/how-to-cope-with-the-lockdown-and-isolation-during-the-coronavirus-crisis/
Physical
5. Don’t forget to move your body! Marya at Chronic Mom Life has a great article for adding some gentle yoga to your days. https://chronicmomlife.com/5-essential-yoga-tips-for-chronic-illness-warriors/
Spiritual & Relationships
6. For your spiritual and relationships health, you can join the re-watch party this month of the Diamonds 2020 conference held in January. The theme is Fighting Together. It is on day three today, and will continue through August 17th. Go here to sign up: http://sgwilloughby.com/2020/07/20/big-announcements-diamonds-2020-rewatch-epic-virtual-birthday-party/
What is Diamonds Conference?
Diamonds is an annual online conference for chronically ill Christians. Millions of chronically ill people battle impossible trials every single day. But so many of them feel so alone. The speakers of Diamonds 2020 want them to know they aren’t — not by a long shot. The theme for Diamonds 2020 is Fighting Together — all about relationships in the midst of chronic illness, from caregiver-patient relationships to spouse relationships to your relationship with God.
Wrap- Up
I hope that this post gave you some inspiration to “keep on keeping on”, and to be intentional about coping with pandemic fatigue. Who knows how long it’s going to be with us. Since we’ve had more practice isolating than the healthy person, we can do this pandemic thing for as long as it takes. Blessings!
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Thank you so much for the shoutout! 😀 And for these resources. 🙂
You’re welcome, Sara! Thank you for stopping by!
What a wonderful post, so packed full of great ideas! I tried the sighing already, and it really helped! I am out on our deck, but – as usual – focused on work and my laptop, so I closed my eyes, did some deep breathing and tuned in to the birdsong out here – instant calm!
So many great tips & resources – thanks!
Sue
I’m so glad the sighing exercise helped you, Sue. Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting!
It really has been a long haul, hasn’t it? I think part of the difficulty just now is feeling as though there’s no end in sight. I guess we all have to do the best we can do to stay safe. We’ll get there, Kathy. Take care x
It has been and who knows how much longer it’s going to be around. Acceptance of what is right now, is probably the best thing for us to aim for.
I think you’re right, Cynthia, about not having our usual activities to look forward to. The main thing I’m doing out of my apartment is physical therapy. I don’t really look forward to that. It’s hard, painful work. Since I have an immune deficiency, I don’t really feel comfortable going places. Especially, since many people are not wearing masks.
I feel you on the fatigue factor. While I know much of mine is caused by the cysts and adhesions in my abdomen because I was fighting it before the lockdown, but now four months later I feel like there is another layer…. I believe not having the activities I did pre-lockdown to look forward to are playing a huge role. Seeing that at least in California there is no end in sight, I think it’s time for me to find some new activities.