Are you feeling isolated?

Most people here in Michigan are heading into at least their second week of social distancing and staying at home. The kids and college students may be home from school and some people may have the luxury of working remotely, but that isn't the case for everyone. There are many people who are still required to venture out to work; health care workers, firefighters, EMTs, police officers, those who work at grocery stores, gas stations, etc. Regardless of where you find yourself right now, HOW ARE YOU FEELING? Are you feeling anxious? Bored? Frustrated? Isolated?

Whatever you are feeling is normal and you are most definitely not alone. What can you do to try and keep some sense of normalcy in an otherwise unsure time? (Disclaimer: these suggestions aren't medically proven, just my opinion for it's worth.)

• Stay busy. Be productive at home, but also be purposeful about carving out some personal time for yourself.

• Don't watch the news for a few hours before you go to bed. You can't allow yourself to get caught up in information overload. Whatever is shared on the news at 10:00 p.m. will surely be repeated at 8:00 a.m. the next morning. You need your sleep.

• Not used to working at home or sharing a space with someone? Be sure to take breaks or work in shifts. Create a fictitious co-worker that you can blame the messy desk on, lol.

• I know a lot of people would argue with me about this one, but try and stick to a routine. Make your bed and get dressed! I've seen all the memes on social media about changing out of your daytime pjs into your nighttime pjs, lol. Don't get sucked in to the 'I don't care who sees me' mentality ... just walk into your bathroom and look in the mirror. Is that who you really want to look at?

• Get outside and get some fresh air. Walk to your mailbox. Clean any wind-blown debris up from your yard. Take a walk and stay 6 feet away from other people, but still wave at your neighbors and your mail carrier.

The truth of the matter is that we don't how long this Covid-19 part of our lives will go on for. We can probably safely assume though that things will get worse before they get better. That's being said we all need to remember to be patient, to be kind, to call or email or text our friends and family to check in with them routinely, and be creative when we need to be (with our meals, with our activities, etc.)

How are you feeling?

How are you passing your time?