Food for Thought: COVID-19 is a challenge and an opportunity

The COVID-19 virus is a huge national challenge and every challenge presents opportunity.

This is a good time to hunker down and reflect on what is important in your life, and reset priorities and personal values.

All of a sudden the hustle and bustle of life with all its demands seem to melt away. Ask yourself how do I spent my time?

How better can I spend my time in the future? What and who is important to me? What is not important in the whole scheme of things that I obsess about?

At a time like this most people realize that health and family take top priority. Use this time of isolation to improve your life and the qualify of your relationships.

Here are a number of recommendations:

1. Stay connective. Call, e-mail, skype, or use social media. Reach out to friends or loved ones. Communication reduces anxiety.

2. Stay calm. Talk to your children about what is going on in terms they understand. For instance, if they are young explain that we have to keep grandma and grandpa safe and can not visit them now but we can call them or send them cards.

Remember you are a role model and children take their cues from you. Stay calm.

3. Spend quality time with your immediate family. Take this time to talk with them and get to know them better. Play board games, put together puzzles, watch movies, go for walks and read to them.

4. Moderate your consumption of news. While it is good to be informed, too much can be overwhelming and unhealthy.

5. Work on projects you never had time for. Clean out the closets, fix those leaky faucets, etc.

6. Read books you always wanted to read.

7. Weed and plant your garden.

8. Cook special meals and bake cookies or cakes.

9. Expand your faith.

10. Take time to exercise and get plenty of sleep.

11. Take up yoga

12. Meditate. This and deep breathing are probably one of the best things to reduce anxiety and put things in prospective.

Above all stay positive and remember this too will pass.

To use an old contrite saying “When given lemons, make lemonade.”

- Dr. Leta A Livoti Ph.D., LCSW, LCPC is a psychotherapist in Thompson Falls.