Webinar- Maximizing Your Child’s Wellness During the COVID-19 Crisis & Beyond:

A Discussion With a Pediatrician and a Child Therapist

Presented by Danielle Jonas, LCSW and Dr. Jessica Grant

 

                                                 

COVID-19 Loss Support Group For Adults

COVID-19 Support Group

Learn More

Webinar- Adjusting to the New Normal: Help for Families During the Covid-19 Pandemic 

Presented by Danielle Jonas, LCSW

 

                                                 

Professional Self-Care Tips Everyone Can Use

By Francis Lora, LCSW, SIFI

COVID-19 therapy

SO WHAT’S HAPPENING?

 

  • The world has been rocked with a pandemic that has changed all aspects of our lives
  • We’re all figuring out how to adjust to this “new normal”
  • Updates with new information and policy changes are occurring multiple times per day via multiple channels
  • This is a time of heightened uncertainty and unpredictability, calling for us to be alert, take appropriate caution, and be flexible in our thinking and habits!

 

TAKE A SECOND…

To check in with yourself about how all of this is affecting you:

 

 

  • Surroundings: How has your situation changed physically? Are you trying to work and have meetings while your child(ren) are running around or trying to go to school remotely? Are you alone with just your pets?… or Are you just Alone?

 

 

 

  • Emotions: How has your attitude changed? Are you feeling sad? Bored? Scared? Frustrated? Irritable?

 

 

 

  • Physical Sensations: Are you feeling stiff? Do you have a tightness in your chest? Headaches? Are you feeling sick?

 

 

 

  • Productivity: Are you finding it more difficult to get the job done? Are there more demands on your time for work-related matters? Are there more demands on your time for home and family related manners? Are you feeling useless and ineffective?

 

 

TAKING CARE OF THE CAREGIVER

 

  • Being confined with COVID-19 related anxiety can take an emotional toll
  • Burnout can lead us to feel…
    • Sad
    • Isolated
    • Irritable
    • Easily Frustrated
    • Indifferent

 

CHANGES IN OUR JOBS

 

  • What are some protective factors that we used to take for granted that we have lost now that we are confined to staying at home?

 

 

  • Social Support

 

(Peers and Co-Workers)

 

 

  • Movement

 

(Commute)

 

 

  • Compartmentalization

 

(Separation between work and home)

 

CHANGES: MOVEMENT

 

      • It’s easy to forget how much we move during a typical day (e.g., walking down subway stairs, walking to get lunch, going to the gym)
      • For a lot of us the most movement we’re doing now is walking a few steps into the kitchen to get a snack
      • We’re all feeling much more confined and physically stiff

 

  • You’ve got to move!!

 

    • Schedule breaks in your day to take a walk 
    • Fit exercise into your daily routine

 

CHANGES: SOCIAL SUPPORT

 

Support from colleagues

    • We’re used to getting support for difficult projects or for solving problems
  • Without physically having colleagues & services (e.g., IT) close, it can feel like we’re dealing with everything alone 
  • Remember you are not alone.  We’re all dealing with similar emotions and challenges and yet need to recognize that some colleagues have to manage more than their share

 

Support from friends and family

    • We’re also used to getting emotional support from friends and loved ones
    • This is especially challenging when you’re social distancing alone
    • Not everyone has a partner or spouse to help out—a lot of us are away from our families
    • Some colleagues are also managing their own medical or personal concerns. 

 

CHANGES: SEPARATION BETWEEN WORK AND HOME

 

  • We no longer have that built in separation between our work life and our home life
  • How can you not take your work home with you when you’re working from home?
  • Importance of developing boundaries 
    • Set aside a specific room for work-related tasks
    • Leave time for breaks
    • Set “work hours” for yourself – try to limit work communication to these hours

 

BE MINDFUL AND REMIND YOURSELF

 

  • It’s not selfish to take breaks
  • Your Job’s “needs” are not more important than your own needs
  • Working non-stop doesn’t mean you will make your best contribution
  • You may need to give yourself more time to step back and recover from your job projects
  • Your work may feel heavier because you’re also dealing with the needs of your family and yourself too! (What Work-Life Balance?!)

 

OUR OWN ANXIETY

 

  • As we have all heard before … stress during this time can contribute to:
    • Fear and worry about our own health and the health of our loved ones
    • Changes in sleeping or eating patterns
    • Difficulty sleeping or concentrating
    • Somatic symptoms including tension and irritability

 

SELF-CARE: PUTTING OUR MASK ON FIRST…

 

Things we can do to support ourselves:

    • Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media
    • Take care of our bodies. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep
  • Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities we enjoy
  • Connect with others. Talk with people we trust about your concerns and how we’re feeling
  • Try to keep a regular routine
    • Get up at your usual time & get ready for the day
    • Have your meals as you usually would
    • Make a hard-stop at the end of your work day

 

RUSS HARRIS’ “FACE COVID”

Russ Harris, 2020 www.TheHappinessTrap.com www.ImLearningACT.com

 

 

  • F = FOCUS ON WHAT’S IN YOUR CONTROL 

 

      • “You can’t control what happens in the future. You can’t control Corona virus itself or the world economy or how your government manages this whole sordid mess. And you can’t magically control your feelings, eliminating all that perfectly natural fear and anxiety. But you can control what you do – here and now.”

 

  • A = ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR THOUGHTS & FEELINGS 

 

      • “Silently and kindly acknowledge whatever is ‘showing up’ inside you: thoughts, feelings, emotions, memories, sensation, urges. Take the stance of a curious scientist, observing what’s going on in your inner world. As you do this, often it’s helpful to put this into words, and silently say to yourself something like, ‘I’m noticing anxiety’, or ‘Here’s grief’, or ‘There’s my mind worrying’ or ‘I’m having a feeling of sadness’ or ‘I’m having thoughts about getting sick’”

 

  • C = COME BACK INTO YOUR BODY 

 

      • “Come back into and connect with your physical body”

 

  • E = ENGAGE IN WHAT YOU’RE DOING 

 

    • “Get a sense of where you are and refocus your attention on the activity you are doing.”

 

 

  • = COMMITTED ACTION

 

      • “Effective action, guided by your core values; action you take because it’s truly important to you; action you take even if it brings up difficult thoughts and feelings” 

 

  • O = OPENING UP 

 

      • “Opening up means making room for difficult feelings and being kind to yourself. Difficult feelings are guaranteed to keep on showing up as this crisis unfolds: fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, guilt, loneliness, frustration, confusion, and many more. We can’t stop them from arising; they’re normal reactions. But we can open up and make room for them: acknowledge they are normal, allow them to be there (even though they hurt), and treat ourselves kindly”

 

  • V = VALUES 

 

      • “Committed action should be guided by your core values: What do you want to stand for in the face of this crisis? What sort of person do you want to be, as you go through this? How do you want to treat yourself and others?”

 

  • I = IDENTIFY RESOURCES 

 

      • “Identify resources for help, assistance, support, and advice. This includes friends, family, neighbors, health professionals, emergency services.”

 

  • D = DISINFECT & DISTANCE

 

    • “Disinfect your hands regularly and practice as much social distancing as realistically possible, for the greater good of your community. And remember, we’re talking about physical distancing – not cutting off emotionally.”

 

FINAL RECOMMENDATION: GO ONLINE AND CONNECT WITH PEOPLE WHO CAN RELATE, REACH OUT TO LOVED ONES, FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS… DON’T BE AFRAID TO USE AND TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEMS!

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

  • Mindfulness and meditation: Headspace Calm, Insight Timer
  • Cognitive Behavioral Strategies: Mood Gym
  • Daily Mood Ratings: Daylio, iMoodJournal

 

 

Special thanks to Anne Marie Albano and Schuyler Fox of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Eating Disorders whose Presentation “COPING WITH COVID-19:
HELPING HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES” Greatly Inspired this piece because, if it is good enough for our professionals, it’s good enough for us!

 

* Cope With School NYC now provides secure, HIPAA compliant online therapy to children, adolescents, adults and families. For more info or to schedule a consultation: copewithschoolnyc.com/contact