All of a sudden we are thrust into a new “normal”! Some of us have been forced to start working at home, others to homeschool their children. Sometimes both things at the same time! (Yes, that is me!).
On top of that, we have to babysit our husbands as well! Haha!
Not only that, we are now, in many places, forced to stay at home unless absolutely necessary!
We humans beings are not happy to change our ways too often. We thrive on routines and habits. It takes time to change something we are so used to doing.
And this is the situation most of us are experiencing at the moment.
Abrupt changes can be very stressful in the best of times. Add to this the fear and anxiety about a virus we know little about, plus the media bombarding us with an overlaod of information and panic and hysteria… well it’s recipe for disaster.
I’m going to share here what I’ve been trying to do to keep my anxiety under control as much as possible. I hope it can help you too.
Avoid the news and social media as much as possible. It is hard not too feel anxious when we are constantly hearing about the virus, lockdowns, sold out supermarkets and flattening the curve. Yes, keep yourself updated once or twice a day, but I recommend not more than that. Turning off the news and keeping away from social media has helped me so much.
Go outside and get some sunshine (if you have it!), fresh air, and movement. Not only does this help with physical immunity and health, it is also paramount to mental health. All human beings need to be outside part of the time!
Try to keep your normal routine going. Go to sleep and get up at the same time. Get dressed in different clothes. If you are newly working from home try to keep similar hours. Routines ground us and help us with uncertainty.
If you now have kids at home, try not to stress too much about homeschooling or whether they’ll be behind or not. Kids will be just as anxious about this as us, even if not fully aware about the situation, and they will pick up on our own anxieties. Be with them, support them, listen to them, play games, and try to keep a routine as well to anchor the whole family.
Try to exercise as much as you can. If you can, go for a walk or a run outside. If you are stuck in side, there are now a myriad of online fitness/yoga/dance and other classes all over the internet. We need to keep our bodies strong and fit to help our immune system and our mental health.
Keep in touch with friends and family, through chats or video calls. Humans need connection. We are all in this together, and it’s always nice to hear from someone just checking up on you. Help your kids to remain in touch with their friends as well — it must be difficult for them not to be able to play and chat with friends anymore!
Don’t feel pressured to (or guilty that you didn’t) do everything that you thought you would do now that you are stuck at home. You know what I’m talking about: decluttering and deep cleaning your house; doing all the yoga classes online; meditating everyday; reading all the books on your bedside table. Relax, take your time, and do only what you need and want to do.
If you feel overwhelmed, reach out. To your family, to your friends. Even to your homeopath! We are here to help!
I’m still working from home with clients, so if you need an appointment just get in touch! Email me at homeopathy@stephaniethullen.com.
I’m also now working with an amazing international group of homeopaths on a new venture to offer homeopathic help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can check this out here: www.homeopathy247.com.
I’m sure there are so many other ways to deal with stress and anxiety during these difficult time. I’d love to hear what has worked for you too! Leave your ideas and experience in the comments if you wish!
I promised you on my newsletter I would write a bit more about the Corona Virus, aka Covid-19, on my blog, so here it is!
Now, my aim with this is to put things in perspective and avoid assumptions and hysteria. Neither of these things will help you.
The media seems to be hyping everything up. They only tell you about the spreading infection and the deaths increasing every day.
What this type of reporting usually does is send people into fear mode, which is the last thing you want if you want to boost your immune system.
Fear is a major immune system suppressor.
I’m all for the media telling us the facts, but without the hype. They are telling us hardly anything about the age and health conditions of the people who are suffering severely or dying from the virus.
You really need to dig deep to find out that most of them are either elderly, or already have a health condition which weakens their immune system.
The media is also not telling us much about the people who are recovering, and the people who suffered only mildly from the virus.
The other day I saw a meme on Facebook, which had the following statistics:
On the same day that 108 people in China died of the virus, more than 26,000 died of cancer, more than 24,000 died of heart disease, more that 4,000 of diabetes and more than 1,000 were murdered!
I’m not sure the source of these statistics but they sound pretty plausible to me. If you have time to dig these numbers (eg. How many people die or xyz per day), I’d love to know! But in a quick search, I found that in the US alone 1,660 people die of cancer each day! The worldwide murder number is pretty accurate after a quick search too!
Of course, we don’t know much yet about the virus, and I understand the caution we need to take around it. However, that does not mean that we need to be frightened to death about it.
Allopathic medicine is based on the germ theory, which see microorganisms as attacking us. In homeopathy we see things quite differently. It all starts with the terrain – the body and the immune system.
If your immune system is functioning well, you eat and hydrate well to keep your body strong and healthy, then you’ll be able to handle things better than someone who doesn’t look after themselves, is overly stressed, or has a suppressed immune system.
So start here.
Follow the advice being given by health authorities is with regards to basic hygiene: wash your hands, cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing, bin all used tissues as soon as possible, avoid contact with people who are unwell, keep your house clean, etc…
It was hygiene and sanitation which has been the major factor in our improved ability to prevent and deal with many diseases.
I already gave some tips in my newsletter about boosting your immunity with Vitamin C, D, iodine. You could also add zinc and selenium in there.
You could add antiviral foods to your diet, like garlic, fermented foods, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, and many others.
Homeopathy has a great track record with regards to treating influenza in the past, and since we don’t treat particular disease but rather individual people and their own unique expression of symptoms, there are many remedies that could be used.
I was going to write here a bit more about some homeopathic remedies to have on hand, but the media seems to be on a witch hunt at the moment with homeopaths, so I will write a separate newsletter just with this info. Make sure you are subscribed if you want to know more! Click here to subscribe!
Most importantly, don’t stress too much about this. As I said earlier, fear and stress are immunosuppressive. Try to get adequate sleep and rest, get enough fresh air and exercise. Be happy and grateful everyday.
As usual, this doesn’t replace advice from your doctor or medical practitioner or health authorities.
And keep doing your own research.
In the meantime I leave you with the Corona virus Cumbia! (Only in Mexico 🇲🇽 !) If you understand Spanish, you can hear all about the common sense preventative measures while you dance!
Hi, I’m Stephanie!
I’m a registered Homeopath living in the small, beautiful rural county of Herefordshire in the UK. My passion is to help women balance their hormones in a natural, safe and effective way, so they can feel like themselves again.
