October 28, 2020
Care
2020 has been a wild year and it is far from done. We have had increased stress in so many ways and seems like there’s more everyday. In particular, caregivers haven’t had much of a break. Here is a resource from my local King County Health Department that has some good advice about care for the caregivers.
Almost everyone has fears about the upcoming election, whichever side you are on. Elections Stress Disorder is a real thing. We can add that to our stress about Covid-19, whether it is health, finances, feeling lonely, or just being thrown off your game by all the changes. We need to respect the effect the election is having on us. Now here comes Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) to top it all off, rushing towards us as the time changes this weekend. We all may be more susceptible to SAD this winter. Winters in the Pacific Northwest are notorious for SAD, but many of us have learned to live with SAD by buying and using light boxes to give us a hit of bright light every morning. I use mine for 30 minutes first thing in the morning and it really helps. Using it later in the day can interfere with sleep. We also take our Vitamin D and we get outside. That is the key to survival. Being indoors all the time can make SAD harder.
There are other resources available too. Covid Coach is a wonderful App from the VA that is free and can help bring you up out of the depths. The link is below. Remember self care is not the same thing as being selfish. Self care helps our resilience so we come out the other side. We can do it, but times are tough and challenging right now so we must care for ourselves as much as we care for others. Hang in there and stop the doom scrolling.
Wash your hands, cover your nose, keep safe six, get yourself a light box.
And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available, and not related to the organization I work for. Thanks for reading.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/seasonal-depression-covid-help/2020/10/26/5d93bbe2-1479-11eb-ba42-ec6a580836ed_story.html
https://publichealthinsider.com/2020/10/27/care-for-caregivers/
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/election-stress-disorder-is-a-real-thing-and-lots-of-us-have-it/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/in-depth/seasonal-affective-disorder-treatment/art-20048298
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/we-belong-out-there-how-the-nordic-concept-of-friluftsliv-outdoor-life-could-help-the-pacific-northwest-get-through-this-covid-winter/
https://mobile.va.gov/app/covid-coach