Self-Care During a Pandemic

If you are an outdoorsy type of person, you probably thought, "Oh, camping sounds awesome." If you are more like me, however, your reaction might have been more like, "Whoa, wait a minute, camping? I thought this blog was about self-care!" Just bare with me. A large part of finding new, and beneficial, self-care activities is trying new things. I was incredibly apprehensive going into our camping weekend. We (my best friend F, her son M, and my 3 sons) reserved a tent camping spot for 4 days in a Florida state park. We bought a 14-person tent (because we thought we might need the extra space) and practiced setting up and taking down the tent in the backyard. When it was time to set out for the long weekend, we loaded up our two small SUV's full of kids and (probably way too many)camping supplies and headed to the state park.

Since creating this blog, I have been more intentional about taking time for deliberate acts of self-care. Due to my recent move, and the uncertainty of future spending power for my one-income family, I have been brainstorming free and low cost self-care ideas. In the world BTDP (before the damn pandemic), I would get my nails done twice a month, and every 2-3 months I would have my hair cut and highlighted or colored. Since March, neither of those things have happened. I remembered how much better my mental health was when I was practicing those two acts of self-care, so my best friend and I did a little hair and nail DIY. The nails are Kiss glue-on (less than $10) and have been nick-named my “bad bitch nails”. Next, the hair... Not bad, not bad at all! I feel like a million bucks :)

I started small. Some of the things I enjoyed for self-care in the past, like bubble baths, taking Netflix breaks, and preparing healthy meals in advance, I was able to continue doing during the pandemic. Some others, like those which addressed my need for down-time to decompress, could not be continued. Some challenges I experienced, or continue to experience, are: - I am never alone. Like, never ever. It's like having toddlers all over again. There were no more daytime hours to myself during the school week, because there was no school week. The kids were home all day and practicing social distance with everyone outside of the home. - I do not make myself a priority. Kids first, partner second, insert dozens of other things here, then myself last. Often, I only address my basic needs and never get to self-care. I can tell others all day long that self-care isn't selfish, yet this seems to be a huge struggle for me. - Carrying the mental load is exhausting. The load h...

I mean, what is self-care, really? The answer is "it depends." Self-care practices are unique to the individual. A quick google search of "self care" produced thousands of results. One in particular caught my attention link and I wanted to share it with you: What is self-care? Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Although it’s a simple concept in theory, it’s something we very often overlook. Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety. It’s also key to a good relationship with oneself and others. That makes sense, but if you are like me you want specific suggestions. The following is a quick, not exhaustive, list of potential self-care practices: - Promote a nutritious, healthy diet. - Get enough sleep. Adults usually need 7-8 hours of sleep each night. - Exercise. In contrast to what many people think, exercise is as good for our emotional health as it is for o...

...decisions were made and plans were developed. I had it all figured out. I would use the final month my kids were in school (May 2020) to focus on packing up the home for the big move to Florida and get a jump on assignments for the last class needed to complete my MSW degree. Then, you probably can guess what happened. My kids, three boys ages 10, 12, and 13, never went back to school after spring break. There I was: scheduling time to complete my practicum (MSW internship); scheduling moving container delivery, rental, and transport dates; wrapping up my classes from the spring semester; and assisting all three boys with online schooling. I can't leave out maintaining care for my kids and myself. My two younger sons are on the autism spectrum and see a pcp for regular medical care and a specialist for medications. I also have medical specialists and a mental health practitioner I see for my personal care. I was not ready for a transition to telehealth for all of that, and t...

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Dawne and I am pursuing an advanced degree in social work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. As part of the final course needed to complete my degree, I am creating a blog on navigating health during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am a huge proponent for prioritizing self-care, whether it be mental, physical, emotional, relational, spiritual and any other facet important to the individual. Despite all I have learned about the subject, I have found myself struggling to maintain and adapt my personal self-care routines during this difficult time. I have an added layer of challenges due to recently moving my household from the Midwest to sunny (and sweaty) Florida. I will be sharing my experiences establishing care in new medical, mental health, and education systems, searching for appropriate self-care practices for my family and myself, and create a new "normal" for my family. I hope my blog helps others who may be experiencing simi...