Life has a way of challenging you, questioning your sanity, and testing your patience and resilience. A couple years ago we went through one of humanities’ worst crisis; the COVID pandemic. During the pandemic many people questioned whether they could weather the storm, unfortunately some couldn’t (as was shown in the spike of suicide and divorce rates; so sad!) , but many people emerged from the darkness much stronger. For myself, the pandemic was a test to my resilience, my strength, and my sanity. Fortunately, my life experience, my wisdom, and my intuition provided me with a different perspective, which helped me grow my coping skills.

Also, I found this quote by Landom Parham very inspiring: “Life isn’t just about darkness or light, rather it’s about finding light within the darkness.”

For all of you who are struggling to maintain your sanity during difficult times here are some ways you can cope with all the bullshit life throws at you ; )

• Let go of having to be in control

Most humans are prone to anxiety because we have the ability to envision our future, which is not always a good thing. We think about the bad things that could happen, which makes us feel anxious about events that haven’t happened yet or will never happen. In order to alleviate this anxiety we need to feel in control of our lives; even better if we could control the future as well. If we lose our sense of control, which was the case during COVID self-isolation, our anxiety gets worse. It seems to be a vicious cycle, which is why you need to let go of your desire to be in control. The only thing you can control right now is how you perceive the situation.

• Be kind to yourself

When I watch the news I feel happy to see acts of human kindness around the world, but the word kindness does not have to be limited to others. I believe we have to practice kindness to ourselves as much as we do to others, otherwise we will lose ourselves; we might suffer mentally or physically. Take time to self-reflect, take a hot bath, write in your journal, take a walk in nature, let go of perfectionism, banish unrealistic expectations, and love yourself the way you are.

• Curiosity (find your inner child)

Children seem to have an unlimited amount of curiosity, but when we grow up this curiosity often disappears; which is often the outcome of bad life experiences and stress. According to research, curiosity has positive benefits, such as fostering creativity, banishing boredom, increasing our sense of well-being, improving concentration and learning, enhancing our ability to feel empathy, protecting against late-life dementia, and strengthening our relationships. What are you curious about?

• Accept your roller coaster of emotions

It is normal to experience mixed emotions, especially at a time of crisis. The worst thing you can do is feel guilty or ashamed of these emotions. It is ok to feel deep sadness when people are dying and at the same time to feel grateful to be alive. It is ok to be anxious and frustrated even though you know that some people are suffering more than you do. It is ok to be happy one moment and cry the next moment. Embracing your roller coaster of emotions is a sign of strength and vulnerability; it’s part of being human.

• Cultivate resilience

People who constantly work on building and maintaining resilience are the ones who will overcome adversity much faster and maintain their sanity. Resilience is not something that we are born with, maybe a few lucky ones, but it is a life-long process of learning and growing from the hardship we experience. Resilience to me is the knowledge and confidence that I have the tools to overcome most challenges life will throw at me. We don’t know what we are able to endure until we are faced with a new problem, which ultimately makes us stronger. According to Elizabeth Edwards: “Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.”

Other tips to maintain your sanity:

• Laughter is the best medicine

  Practicing QiGong

• Meditation

• Make your bed…..having a daily routine can help us stay focused and feel less anxious!

• Do your normal chores

• ETF tapping

• Yoga

• Journaling

• Reading

• Listening to podcasts

• Exercising

• Live in the present moment

• Be creative

• Foster or adopt an animal

• Reach out to one person every day

• Ask your elderly neighbors if they need help

• Make a bucket list

• Re-invent yourself

• Start a new hobby

• Play board games

• Make a gratitude jar or keep a gratitude journal

• Plan a road trip….my favorite! : )

• Start a vision board

I wish all of you strength, perseverance, hope, happiness, resilience and good health!