Quarantined: How to deal with social distancing and anxiety

For a lot of us the quarantine is becoming longer than expected and truly we don't all have the luxury of a big house or even a yard. So being inside can get a bit frustrating and cause a lot of anxiety. However, it doesn’t have to be this way; finding new ways to deal with what makes us feel frustrated or anxious can help us rewire our mind into more positive coping mechanisms. We can even break old habits and replace them with fruitful ones. I mean, why not? We all got the time, so I say it’s worth trying.

Staying creative and working on things that I enjoy has really helped me cope with these times of isolation and social distancing. I know there are days when all we want to do is wallow and do nothing and I’m here to tell you that, that’s ok too! The first misconception we need to break is that we should always stay busy. Just think about how the world was before the quarantine, we walked in disconnect, stressed and frustrated for not having time to do what we love because we were too busy doing things to survive our day to day. So, I invite you to not feel guilty for oversleeping, doing nothing and staring off into space. Especially now, it’s a good time to reconnect with ourselves and tune in to what our heart is trying to tell us. However, just like everything in life, we need balance. Doing a lot of nothing for too long can also be detrimental. So, what i’m saying is to really listen to your needs because sometimes we need to just rest and sometimes we need to spring into action.

So, with that said what can we do with our time during this quarantine?

Well I have a few ideas I’d like to share with all of you…

Rest! Yes, like I said before, get all the rest you need. Listen to your body and mind, sometimes we need to just relax, breath and let things flow so that we have a clearer understanding of ourselves and what we really need.

Get Creative: A good way to spark up our senses is by doing things that we enjoy. Personally, I've been drawing and coloring lately, something I stopped doing as I grew up but that inherently brings me joy and peace. You can definitely get those brain juices flowing by doing some DIY around your place or with your stuff. Just be careful not to end up like my dear friend Mando who cut up all his pants into shorts one day and then realized he might need pants for the winter… but to each its own!

Take a class online: There is a super awesome website called coursera.com where you can find courses of all kinds by top schools like Princeton and Yale. There is everything from mindfulness, finance, psychology to learning how to code. Just go to the search bar and type in free courses. I went through all of them, and there are literally over 1,500 to choose from.

Start a new practice: Whether it’s exercise, mindfulness, writing, singing or karate, just do it! Nowadays you can virtually learn anything on youtube or on platforms like skillshare, absolutely free.

Be mindful: The world is rapidly changing and we are being forced to really change our perspective on the way we once viewed the world. This can cause a lot of anxiety for a lot of us but practices like yoga and meditation help us come back to center and refocus what we give attention to. Scientific studies show that Meditation and yoga help us rewire our brain toward more beneficial habits. No, you don't have to be buddhist to meditate, anyone and everyone should do it, regardless of your religious beliefs or background. Meditation is a way to help us go within ourselves for the answers we often seek outside. We are all smart, enlightened beings we just have to tune in. Yoga is not only for the skinny, super flexible type and I think this is often a misconception. Everyone can practice yoga and no you don’t have to be perfect at it or do super crazy postures. Yoga teaches us to connect every movement with a breath and that helps us stay present and connected as well as anxiety free. There’s other ways to be mindful like, walking around the house, staying present with every step you take, spending quality time with your family, even spending quality time with yourself, like giving yourself a facial or a bath.

Find new things to listen to: Like new and interesting podcasts that are absolutely free to download. My absolute favorites are: The radio lab, The Joe Rogan Experience, Aubrey Marcus and The one you feed. Not only can you learn something new and interesting everyday, it's a good way to refocus your attention when you are feeling frustrated and or anxious.

You can also start exploring new music, explore beyond what you are used to and you might be surprised at what you find and what you learn about yourself. I didn’t know I liked instrumental music until now, it’s like I’m meeting a new Silvia! Plus music is medicine, literally! Studies have found that certain vibrations of music interact with our own energetic field in a lot of beneficial ways. Check out this article: https://www.healthline.com/health/sound-healing

Start an online business: This is another way we can use our creative energy. I started an online t-shirt store that focuses on eco-friendly products. Not only does it bring me joy to create but I get to help the environment in some way. Some of you have always had an itch for something that you never had the courage to try, well now you have time to try and fail and succeed because that’s what takes us to our most desired outcome, being able to see and do past our fears. I know a lot of you are thinking “well I don't know how to do that”, “I have no experience” , “I have no money”. Well, I don’t either but with the online resources that we have nowadays, anything is possible. You can check out my project at thirdeyetee.com and draw inspiration for yours.

I will make a blog post dedicated solely to starting an online store from scratch to cover everything you need to know.

Catch up on some good shows: (Disclaimer: I use Netflix so that’s all I can recommend , sorry!) Let me just start by saying that you need to watch “ Casa de Papel” or as translated in english “Money Heist” You will literally be so intrigued, you might binge watch all four seasons without wanting to sleep, if you haven’t already done so.

Some other awesome shows I enjoyed are: Freud, Unbreakable, The Santa Clarita Diet , How to get away with murder, Self made and Unorthodox. And if you want to watch some crazy, unbelievable docu-series I highly recommend, Wild, Wild Country and Tiger King, just be ready to say “wtf” a lot!

And of course if you have any other suggestions let me know...

So, with all that said I think we have great tools to maximize our quarantine and make this a fruitful experience. Remember that how we choose to shift our focus is how we are going to feel. So, if you don’t want to feel anxious then do something to rewire your thought process. It’s been said that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit so use this time to become the best version of yourself. We need you out there after this quarantine is over; Everyone has something unique to offer the world, tune in and do us all a favor, use your super power for good!

And don’t forget to subscribe, stay curious my friends!