In 1948 Dale Carnegie, in his book HOW TO STOP WORRYING AND START LIVING, coined a phrase “when life gives you lemons make lemonade”.
On March 16, 2020, in the Ottawa citizen Rabbi Bulkan used this same advice in his article We can turn the COVID-19 lemon into lemonade. He went on to say “This is not to minimize the herculean issues we face, just to accentuate the opportunities.”
Rabbi Bulkan went on to say, “So many people are either self-isolating or working from home. This has created a rare gift: TIME . What will we do with it?
I fervently hope and pray that we will soon overcome this most serious assault on our collective well being.
Simultaneously, I fervently wish that we will use the newly available time and opportunity to enhance our immediate and personal world.”
I truly hope you read his full article, it is Chicken Soup for the Soul , to take a phrase from Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.
How can the Team at OHG help you Navigate through these Testing Times? Personally, it s challenging and frustrating to not be able to treat and be there for my patients ,many of whom I have known for 35 years, while others just a few weeks. I know the other practitioners feel the same way. Trust me when I say we are here for you and we will continue to be here for you after this crisis has passed. In the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out. Our incredible Team (Katherine, Tina, Rebecca, Emma, Stephanie, Brayden and Florence) are managing our emails and phones and they will convey your messages.
How can you use this newly available time, take the time to reflect on your health. Over the next few weeks we will be sharing healthy tips on our social media platform to keep you informed and to empower you to improve your health.
Today we will talk about Resiliency.
Remaining calm at a time when we are all in high alert due to COVID-19, can be challenging. Our level of response to the outbreak can vary. We may experience fear and worry about our health and the health of our loved ones, changes in our sleep or eating patterns, difficulty concentrating, worsening of chronic conditions, to name a few.
To help you keep these stressors in check, here are a few tips to help you strengthen your emotional resilience and maintain your physical and mental health.
Why strengthening your emotional resilience will help?
When you have resilience you are able to roll with the punches and handle adversity with inner strength to help you recover from a setback or challenge. This does not mean problems will vanish on their own (you still have to work at them), but resilience can give you the ability to be resourceful, find solutions, enjoy life and better handle stress. In short, resilience allows you to keep functioning physically and mentally.
5 Ways to Build up Your Resilience
1. Nurture your relationshipsFriends and loved ones are great allies when life gets hard. Even at times when social distancing is advised, you can always ensure you remain connected to the people that matter most by phone, email or social media. Those strong and positive relationships can help you release oxytocin, which helps calm your mind and reduce stress.
2. Find meaning in your dayFind delight in doing something meaningful each day. Focus on setting goals – and accomplishing them. This outlook reinforces your sense of purpose and meaning in life.
3. Practice self-careTo build a more resilient “you”, ensure you re-charge frequently so you can better handle stressors in difficult times. Some of the self-care practices we recommend are exercising at home (30 minutes well spent will do it), taking breaks from watching, reading and listening to news stories, taking deep breaths, meditating, stretching, getting plenty of sleep and eating healthy meals. Tending to your own needs will give you the energy, physical strength, good health, and vitality you will need to power through hard times.
4. Remain optimisticThis is about keeping a fine balance between a positive outlook and a realistic view of the the situation. Experts indicate that people are better at handling tough times when being able to recognize the difficult circumstances while identifying the positives and making the best out of them.
This is called realistic optimism. It helps you identify things you can control so you can take advantage of them. This builds your resilience and lets you take steps forward despite dire circumstances.
5. Be proactiveThis is not about ignoring problems and circumstances around you. Rather, this is about figuring out what needs to be done, making a plan and taking action with a level head. It may take some toiling to recover from a major setback; yet the only way to improve a situation is to work at it.
Yours in Health,
Dr. MarK
