Practitioners share top tips for coping with COVID-19

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1. Invest in some good, organic herbs spices for your kitchen and learn how to use them. To avoid going to supermarkets, I am living off the contents of my organic box, which I receive twice a week , so eating very seasonally, and the content of the box is limited, partly due to the pandemic, partly due to being between seasons so variety is limited. Food can get a bit monotonous if you don’t vary flavor, plus many of these have wonderful health benefits.

2. Unsubscribe from social media groups pushing questionable news sources for mental sanity. Reading histrionic false data has a significant negative impact on mood and creates additional anxiety for not only you and your family, but for those that you share information with. If you then share false or questionable information with your client base, you run the risk of being discredited. Plus, sometimes colleagues can have extremely different views to you, which can be shocking, upsetting, surprising, and, in these emotional times, can possibly lead to heated conversations. You might not agree with what they have to say, and it's not worth the confrontation. 

3. Spend time with your community and support network, virtually. Social distancing has left many people feeling isolated, depressed, worried, angry, and lonely. Those with addictions are struggling. Older family members might be feeling extremely vulnerable. My family are doing group video calls daily, we are doing online painting sessions with nephews and nieces and dressing up as dinosaurs or characters from Frozen. I am checking in with colleagues and friends by creating social events online, brainstorming ideas, sharing recipes, even working out together. If you are working with patients who have a history of addiction or compulsive behavior, I find that shifting their shorter appointments from phone to video calls helps to mitigate aggression directed at you, and helps with accountability.

Carolina Brooks, ND, BA, IFMCP