What is going to happen this Christmas under the Covid cloud for 2020?
As the numbers of sick and dead continue to climb across the country and in the world, due to Covid, everyone, especially children, is struggling to figure out what Christmas 2020 will look like.
At the moment there is no definite plan for family gathers and most likely not going to happen.
For safety reasons, our family is opting for individual homes staying separated during Christmas. No family gets together‘s, no big dinners, no large celebrations this year 2020.
This has a tremendous impact on everyone’s mental health from grandma right down to the great-grandkids. Finding ways to cope finding ways to be safe and finding ways to still be happy and enjoy Christmas is up to our self-care tool kit, our attitude, and our creative ideas.
Each of us is responsible for taking care of our mind, body, and spirit, and emotions.
Children need support and guidance to take care of mind, body, spirit, and emotions.
Speaking from my own experience I didn’t learn or know about how to take care of my own mind, body, spirit, and emotions until I grew up, while experience workplace bullying. During those many years slowly developed my own self-care tool kit that focussed on taking care of mind, body, spirit, and emotions. It’s a game-changer!! Crap was happening all-around similar to living under the COVID cloud of today. Something we cannot control just like bullying. Yet as in the past, taking care of ourselves just as important today.
What does taking care of your mind, body, spirit, and emotions even look like? It has many expressions and is as unique as you and me.
A few suggestions for body
Fitness, sports, gardening, biking, cooking, outside activities, bonfires, weight lifting tins, running, walks, hiking. Think of what else you can add to the list.
A few suggestions for the mind
Enjoying your job, hobbies, donating money, holidays, travel, reading, learning a new language, taking classes, having a tubby, helping others, working on your business. Think of what else you can add to the list.
A few suggestions for your emotions
Trusting, dinner with your partner, sex, baking, enjoying a bubble bath, volunteering, holidays, cuddling, making dinner with your family, shopping, time with family, helping, listening to music, meditation, yoga. Think of what else you can add to the list.
A few suggestions for your spirit
Exercise, hiking, learning to value, and trust yourself, camping, cuddling, helping others, volunteering, traveling, learning, writing, painting, religion, family time, playing games with your family. Think of what else you can add to the list.
Yes, these categories can sometimes overlap. You can add many different options to your own self-care tool kit. It’s easier to break it down into four sections and see and feel what parts need some added attention to help cope and get through each day. Especially during stressful times.
For children ask them what works and what they need? Not everyone comes from a healthy emotionally secure and happy family. For those children, Christmas 2020 will have additional stress and sadness. Think of ways to give back to your community. Donating time, setting up giveaways on social media, volunteering to a shelter, preparing food/meals to give away, making your own gifts. Singing outside the window of a friend or at the care home.
This 2020 Christmas is going to have unique challenges
with gatherings, shopping for gifts, Christmas parties, and other holiday events. My partner and I have to accept that we are not going to have our family at home. For someone in the Military, this unknown for next year places an added burden of the ‘what if’ for this year. Time does not stand still and life events such as COVID can play havoc on all our plans. Trying to navigate our own pain, sadness and loneliness is a constant mind trap and the fight of positive vs negative thought patterns.
Everyone is thinking about their mental health. It is a topic of great concern more so this year than at any other time that I can remember. Most folks seem to be hanging on by their fingernails and someone asking them to clap!
On a personal note, I just put up the tree and with only the Christmas lights. All the beautiful colors give a lovely, peaceful hue to the house, and this is good for our mental and physical health. Looking at the lights gives a sense of inner peace which is helping along the journey with COVID. It is important to be mindful of our emotions. Without healthy positive messages, depression can soon overtake our thought patterns starting a spiral downward.
The idea is to recognize that you are not alone in this ongoing seemingly never-ending cycle of dealing with stress and COVID. We are going to get through this together, it looks and feels different based on everyone’s unique personality, experiences, coping skills, and attitude. I have to admit listening to folks who do not take COVID seriously makes me angry because it only takes a few to ruin it and possibly get folks sick or killed.
We can take COVID seriously but not let it run or ruin our day or our Christmas. Never give up and know that you are not alone. Seek out positive supports if needed.