3 Positive Steps to Boost Your Well-Being

During the long months of this pandemic, many of us have been slogging through each day without much thought about our mental and emotional well-being.  The shock we felt 4 months ago, as everything shut down, has been replaced with frustration and anxiety that this isn’t over yet.  Life has not returned to normal and when this eventually ends, the world will have changed.  No wonder we’re all feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I attend an online industry group that meets weekly on Zoom.  Each meeting has different presenters.  At a recent meeting, the presenter was a psychologist.  As I listened to her, I realized how much stress and anxiety I’d been suppressing these past few months.  Judging by the questions people asked her, many other attendees felt the same way.  Months of unemployment, social distancing, and kids at home 24/7 have taken their toll.  Many of us need some coping strategies for the weeks and months ahead.

Here are 3 positive steps I learned to boost your well-being:

1. Keep up with exercising and eating well.

It sounds like a cliché, but we need to stay fit and healthy now more than ever.  Our immune systems depend on it.  Exercise impacts both our physical and mental well-being.  Keeping fit hasn’t been easy lately, with gyms and other fitness facilities closed.  In Arizona, it’s even too hot now for a daily walk.  There’s a reason sales of home exercise equipment are soaring.  I’m not always motivated to drag out my Nordic Track, but I manage to do it.  I get a good workout and there’s no need to clean anyone else’s sweaty germs off the machine, like at the gym.  Doing yoga classes at home, via Zoom, is actually enjoyable.  Resisting the daily temptation to stress binge on sugar can be a challenge.  Especially when I view my Pinterest feed, where pictures of fabulous desserts abound.  But like many of us, I’m cooking meals at home and trying to stay as healthy as possible in our strangely altered environment.

2. Pursue activities that we enjoy now.

One of the points made in the meeting was that activities we enjoyed before the pandemic may not make us happy now.  For many of us, our activity preferences have changed.  Some hobbies that had declined in popularity, like doing puzzles, are suddenly popular again.  Pet adoptions have increased.  Many people who didn’t have time for a pet now have a new best friend to spend time with.  My own reading habits have changed.  I find myself preferring the light reading of design and travel magazines to novels.  Understand that this is a unique time and that you may enjoy different hobbies and activities than you did before.

3. Get professional help if you need it.

In our industry, we’re used to quickly finding creative solutions to challenging problems in a fast paced, often stressful work environment.  But we can’t solve our way out of this pandemic.  According to a poll by the American Psychiatric Association, more than one third of Americans say the pandemic is seriously impacting their mental health.  These are not normal times, and we’re all dealing with things that we never imagined could happen.  Moreover, our personal support systems may be stretched thin right now.  If you feel the need for professional help, by all means get it.

The good news for our industry is that productions are starting up again and quite a few shows are now in pre-production.  Some shows have even begun filming.  Our industry will survive, even with some states opening pre-maturely and then having to close down again.  The Safe Way Forward production safety guidelines continue to be the industry standard for resuming production.  The changed work environment will be challenging, but all indications are that our industry will thrive again.  In the meantime, do all you can for your personal well-being during this unpredictable time.