Five weeks in quarantine has made me realize how much I need outside resources to get through the multitude of challenges that we all are facing. Some days I am feeling really good. I’m able to get work done, be present for my family and have fun. Other days, I need more support to get me centered and feeling just OK. Here are some different resources: podcasts, articles, online trainings etc. that I’ve found helpful, interesting and calming. Take a spin and let me know which resources work for you. And, if you don’t do any of it, that’s ok too! It’s all about being gentle on yourself at this time.
In May 2018, New York magazine wrote a great piece, How to be Happy, about Yale University’s most popular class, PSYC 157: Psychology and the Good Life. The article walks you through the highlights of the class and even has a quiz. Last year, the professor that teaches the class, Laurie Santos. started a podcast called The Happiness Lab . The podcast is currently airing with specifics on Coronavirus and if you have the time, you can now take the actual class on Coursera for free: The Science of Wellbeing.
Brene Brown is a wonderful researcher and thought leader (and I might be captain of her fan club.) She has started a new blog, Brene’s blog, and it has some great nuggets on homeschooling and how we all have to be gentle on ourselves as parents as we wade through this uncharted territory.
Raising Good Humans is a terrific podcast hosted by Dr. Aliza Pressman, the Co-Founder of The Seedlings Group, the Co-Founding Director of Clinical Programming for the Mount Sinai Parenting Center, as well as an Assistant Clinical Professor for the Department of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The podcast focuses on conversations with different experts on a variety of topics of parenting and right now is offering a lot of guidance and advice for the corona-era.
In recent studies, it has shown that 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. With this pandemic, an anxiety disorder doesn’t go away. This is a wonderful article about managing the symptoms of anxiety while trying to manage the symptoms of Coronavirus.
Mindfulness and Meditation just seem like buzz words, but boy do they come in handy in a pandemic. Just a 5 minute meditation can help flip a switch in lessening our anxiety, open us up to new choices and bring calm to our state of being that we didn’t know we could find in a crisis. The Ten Percent Happier website has guided meditations, podcasts, and live meditations every weekday at 3pm. This article from Child Mind Institute also lends some practical application to bringing mindfulness to your daily tasks. We all need a break from worrying.
When I started being interested in trying to build a more consistent meditation practice, I started with a 30 day challenge at Sounds True. They offer access to all kinds of trainings, challenges and some really amazing content. Right now I am working my way through a Tara Brach training on Fear and Sleep. It’s really helping.
