Managing Stress During Covid19

Managing Stress During Covid19

I wanted to  share a few ideas that have been helping me through this time, and I hope you find something here that helps calm you.

Beyond the suggestions of the CDC (and most Doctors and scientists) that suggest you stay home as much as possible and if you have to go out, follow all necessary precautions -  wearing a face mask and washing hands thoroughly when you return. 

Limit media consumption. Did you know adrenaline stays in your system for about an hour?  It is important to stay informed, but it is also important to give yourself a break from the constant bombardment. My suggestion is to take some time during the day to turn the news off. Inform yourself, but care for your sensitive side. 

Good News Please!  When you do decide you want to partake of the news, look for the places that are delivering you news you can digest easily- along with the truth- Yes Magazine, etc. Ask friends and family to only forward you news of inspiration and hope. Pick a day or a social media platform and ask your friends- What is giving you hope and inspiration today? Those days you will see who wants to bring positivity to your day and you can “like & follow” them more.

Move your Body: Dance, practice yoga, or take a walk in nature or sit quietly with your eyes closed and listen to the birds or other sounds of nature if possible. Movement helps lower your cortisol levels. Another easy way to lower stress is to do the “Wonder Woman Pose” or some other typical “Boss” pose. Open up and feel it- You are the boss of YOU! If you can hold the pose for 3 minutes it will significantly assist in your overall stress reduction (Clinically proven- As seen in Ted Talks!)

Get in the sunshine! Vitamin D from the sun is great for boosting immunity, but normally we humans can’t get enough from sunlight and we need supplementation. Vitamin E drops are easy to use and you can take your whole dose for the week at one time since it takes time to process through your system. Other Vitamins are also helpful for keeping the whole body strong. 

Make Art Not Stress!! Art, Music, Craft project that you had back in the closet? Get it out, dust it off and “Use it or Lose it!”  Make art for other people, help other people make art- I sent a few drawings that I wanted the nieces and nephew to color, One of them sent us his version - an electric guitar!  We all colored it in and sent around our versions 

Drink Clean, Room temperature Water! Challenge yourself to drink larger glasses of water and start tracking how much you drink during your daily routine. Hydration is a key component for health.  Your elimination systems- the kidneys, liver and pancreas work constantly to separate the good stuff from the bad stuff in your system. Periodically they need to be given a flush (pun intended).  

Make Tea not Stress! Or… Make no stress tea! Herbal tea starts soothing as soon as the aroma wafts up to your nose. Rtop and make a cup of tea for yourself (and others) and sit down and take a break and open your mind to the present moment. Sometimes just allowing for that tiny piece of time that is just for pleasure, relaxation, and reflection can lead to some pretty amazing revelations. 

Try some of the following herbs in different combinations until you have a blend that is right for you. Depending on the tea blend, you can support the different organs and ease your mind at the same time!

You can make tea hot of course, and enjoy the aroma wafting up to your nose and into your olfactory system, but if you either make extra tea and leave it to sit in the jar for a few hours and even overnight, you can get more nutrition extracted from the same amount of herbs. Some teas even taste better after steeping (The Clover and Oats) in cold water from the start. Play around with combinations and explore more teas to enhance your daily routine.

 

Holy Basil- One of the best tasting herbs to drink as a tea! If you grew up in India, your grandmother might have given this to you for just about anything that “ails ya”. If you make a tea with this as one of the ingredients it will impart such a nice flavor and also micronutrients for your nervous system. If you make a really strong cup, it can almost taste like black tea.. It really just makes you want to smile.

Oat Tops- Nutrition and satisfaction. These little oat seed pods are usually picked in their milky stage (which means they are not yet a proper seed yet, but all the goodness and nutrition that would have been going to make the seed is preserved within. The taste is sweeter than you would think, and the longer you let it steep, the more goodness comes out. (If you grow it, you can even use the oatstraw. 

Clover- Another Super nutrient rich tea. The little pink clovers that you see in your garden or just volunteering in an organic garden or farm are so easy to harvest- you only need about 3-5 clover tops to make a lovely cup of tea. This is one that is so fun to do with kids because it teaches them plant ID, and how to forage safely (there is nothing else that looks like clover that will harm you). And it turns the water pink! How fun is that?

Chamomile- THE go-to for chilling out at any age. Chamomile is gentle and relaxing and one of those flavors that can bring you back to childhood memories. This one is also great for kids as a pre nap tea. If you can grow it yourself and keep picking the tiny flowers as soon as they form, you can create a small bush- It does seem endless when we are picking a row of it, but they do grow back bushier. And they keep blooming through the entire season! One of my farm workers says that by the time we finish picking all the flowers that bloomed since yesterday the plants at the beginning of the row look like they bloomed again...

Valerian- My brother calls Valerian the Adult Swim version of the sleep aids we produce. The smell and taste can definitely put you off unless you can add other flavors to the tea; but if you just need to get in the bed and sleep or wind waaay down Valerian is for you...

Motherwort- Another great herb to calm a racing heart and help the symptoms that come along with anxious thoughts. It is quite a bitter herb, but you might not need so much in each serving.

Hawthorn- This tree may as well be called the giving tree- We use all parts of the tree in one of our soothing heart healthy blends (Along with oats). It tasted wonderful, and even the dried leaves and flowers have a berry-like flavor. Hawthorn is one of those herbs that is “good for” your entire being…It helps keep circulation flowing properly to all your limbs and to your brain. One herbalist I know says you only need it if you want to be a strong elder...

Lemon Balm- This is found in many gardens in the spring in the Pacific Northwest. It is easy to grow and a lemony taste. I like to blend it with other herbs rather than use it alone, but a friend of mine uses it raw in salads and was drinking the tea several times a day for her stress due to an illness.

If you made it to the end of this blog post, you are amazing! Wishing you a beautiful day, Jayne (& Marc)