When life unfolds out of your control, the ability to cope is key. The years of living with COVID demonstrates the importance of possessing adaptive coping strategies for whatever adversity and loss you have to face. If up to now you have neglected self care, now could be a good time to make it your intention and explore beneficial ways to cope.
Although there is an inability to control what is going on outside of yourself, it is your choice on how you control what is happening within. For the intention of strengthening your inner resiliency through the outer turbulence, consider self monitoring with self awareness by acknowledging, assessing and assisting.
Acknowledge, assess, assist are the components of the empowering 3-A Coping Framework I developed. It is designed as a means to assist yourself once acknowledging and assessing adverse situations. For personal wellbeing, it is better to acknowledge adversity and loss rather than denying or suppressing it. By denying or suppressing, you are deluding yourself. It is only when you acknowledge that you can truly assess the impact that adversity has to your inner being and apply appropriate assisting strategies . The 3-A's empower by providing you with a clear choice of staying in touch with yourself and how you react to adverse situations.
In choosing to assist, monitor your inner self with awareness. Awareness guides to cope with what is going on outside of your inner self. You may not have control of the situation but you can self monitor with self awareness so you are equipped to react to the situation.
"SEEE For Yourself" is an assist self care intention to maintain inner resiliency. You are at the controls. This strategy involves monitoring with awareness and choice while attending to basic needs: sleep, eat, exercise and...enjoyment.
Sleep & Rest is something to strive for during times of adversity and loss. If you get up in the middle of the night, you can choose to allow yourself to partake in worry and overthinking or you can instead think of ways to stay calm as well as ways that will "lull" you back to sleep.
Eating right with a good diet is important to maintain physical and mental strength. During war times, there can be food shortage. In this war against the virus, you do not have to go hungry and can maintain a healthy diet.
Exercise is always encouraged for good health. Going for walks, yoga and dancing to your favorite music are some suggested activities to keep your body moving. Frequency of exercise is important, optimally daily. If taking an hour to exercise is difficult, perhaps take 15 minutes at different intervals during the day.
Enjoyment assists in countering grief. It is beneficial when you allow yourself to genuinely partake in enjoyable activities frequently, optimally every day. Assess what you can enjoy. Is it watching a favorite program, having tea (or ice cream) online with a favorite family member or friend, listening to your favorite music or reading a good book. Also, you can enjoy a good laugh since it is said that laughter is the best medicine.
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Choose Acknowledge, Assess, Assist and SEEE For Yourself...
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