COVID Kindness And Compassion
As infectious as the COVID-19 virus has been, kindness and compassion are even more contagious. You can spread kindness and compassion without a touch, a word, or even knowing the other person. We are all being challenged in significant ways. No one is experiencing this pandemic alone, though the social isolation can make it seem otherwise. We can all extend each other a little bit more compassion and kindness. Perhaps thanking the overworked employee of the grocery store for showing up to work, despite the risk, is a great start. We can nod in appreciation to the men and women in uniform who are always serving us. We can let the other person have the right of way or wait a bit more patiently for the pedestrians to pass. We can be more compassionate to the poor bankers who have worked so hard, and yet none of us are happy with our financial situation! We can be forgiving of all the errors than happen with all of orders, appointments, and demanding schedules.
Mostly, we can exercise self-compassion. Give yourself permission to forgive yourself for not being perfect during this pandemic! You are probably a bit more on edge, and just have not buffer left! Our kids watch a bit too much TV, and our diets are not always ideal. This is not time to try to be the perfect mother, wife, husband, father, son, daughter or anything else. Your best is all you have to offer.
Not being perfect is perfectly fine- and you can remind yourself of that when you are criticizing yourself today. Compassion and kindness are infectious, and if we are going to infect one another, why not with love?
Self-Compassion During COVID Pandemic
Here are some techniques that have helped me so much. I hope you find them helpful, or at least comical enough to make fun of me! I can take it!
- Journal your emotions. You can write them, or you can make yourself videos to “my future self!” Your brain can process emotions by having them filter through the parts of your brain that control writing, and language skills. Just think how amazing it will be to look back on these days and know you made it!
- Minimize your time with the news. We all want to stay informed. However, the news has to cause a bit of hysteria to keep our interest. Watching all these horrific stories all day is very traumatic to one’s emotional well being- especially before we sleep!
- Pick up a new hobby. I can assure you that I have never had a green thumb, yet, I have started gardening with my little daughter. She loves watering the plants (and the weed in our garden!) daily! We are learning respect for nature, and healthy food choices. I have even baked some cakes with her, much to my husband’s delight!
- Find 10 things you are grateful for every day. If there is one thing we can learn from this pandemic, is that life is very fragile. Who can you thank today? What are you grateful for that you don’t want to lose? I must admit my list is always so long. I have started texting my friends and family to just wish them well and let them know how much they mean to me. It is a big part of my gratefulness ritual!
As always, please know that you are not alone. We are all here for you, and we look forward to connecting with you in person or via virtual visits.
With much compassion and kindness (the super infectious kind!),
Tanya Kormeili MD