You may be feeling a lot of overwhelming fear and anxiety about your health, your loved ones health and your finances right now as our world is experiencing a major crisis locally and globally. You are not alone!

However, if you are living with a long-term condition this can make you particularly vulnerable and make your everyday health concerns and limitations a little more challenging. You may need to cope with pain or discomfort from your symptoms a little differently right now, take steps to manage your condition and practice self-care, adjust to new limitations that your condition puts on your life, manage increased financial pressures and cope with feelings of frustration, confusion, or isolation.

Here are some strategies to help you cope and regain control of your life and situation:

• Observe your own body too. Pay close attention to what seems to ease your symptoms or make them worse. Use a notebook or calendar to record trends and other insights that might help you manage your symptoms.

• Become a Self-Manager
Serving as the day-to-day manager of your own health may help you gain a sense of control and improve your quality of life. Try to keep a consistent schedule as well so you feel like you have more control of your day. Continue to follow your recommended treatment plan to keep your symptoms and stress in check.
It may help to set up a reminder system in your calendar, daily planner, or smartphone.

Manage Emotions
The all-encompassing nature of chronic illness, and the ways it disrupts your life and plans, can elicit a wide range of emotions. These responses may include:
• stress
• grief
• rage
• fear
• depression
• anxiety

Experiment with different ways of managing stress and painful emotions. When you find a technique that works, incorporate it into your daily or weekly routine.

Some ideas include:
• exercising
• stretching
• listening to music
• deep breathing
• meditation
• writing in a journal
• cooking
• reading
• spending quality time with family, your partner, your pets
• take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
• take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.
• Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
• Laugh
• Watch something funny
• Eat as best as you can. Eating living foods like veggies and fruits and organic foods will help increase your vibration. Eliminate inflammatory foods like sugar, dairy, gluten and corn. Increase your Vitamin D, C and zinc. Stay hydrated too!
• Get lots of sleep and rest right now. This is your body’s time to heal and restore its energy.
• Have a dance party
• Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. Connect on video using zoom or FB or skype.
• Spend time outside in nature if you can and soak up some sun.
• Expand your mind: catch up on some reading, learn something new and explore a new hobby

Contact me if you have any questions/concerns. Thank you
https://www.healingforwardwithwendi.com