Isolation • Fear • Uncertainty • Confusion
These are symptoms from a pandemic that has cast the world in fear. A fear of getting sick, a fear of spreading the virus, even the fear of dying. Our social distancing directives are meant to slow the spread of the virus but come at a steep price. Isolation disconnects us from our routines, our environment, our friends, and even ourselves.
With all the confusion about drugs, treatments, quarantine, and conflicting plans for return to school and jobs from a variety of professionals, it is important, now more than ever, to turn to self-care. We often refer to self-care as a huge part of what is missing in the life of someone who is busy and stressed. But it may also be missing in someone who is isolated. So, what is self-care? Self-care is the mindful taking of time to pay attention to you, not in a narcissistic way, but in a way that ensures that you are being cared for by you.
How we love and care for ourselves, and how we love each other, impacts not only disease but also resilience, depression and anxiety, sleep issues, and performance. Self-care is the true healthcare! It is important to take a serious look at how we care for ourselves and how we care for our children.
The naturopathic philosophy honors what is called the Vital Force, that invisible force that guides all living things towards growth, betterment, compassion, and healing. This natural way of dealing with our well being is gentler and kinder to us all and could be the stabilizer we so desperately need. Our medical system is excellent for treating acute illness and trauma but is woefully lacking when it comes to teaching us about wellness. Self-care helps us become more resilient and encourages self-reliance while building our immune system, so important to our well-being.
What steps should we be taking toward self-care?
Eat nutritious foods.
This means eating real food like fruits and vegetables, clean meat in moderation, and drinking pure water. If you have municipal water, then filter it to get rid of the chemicals in it. Processed foods do nothing to help your body because they lack nutrients. In fact, because these “foods” are just chemicals masquerading as real food, they do more harm than good. Sugary foods and drinks suppress your immune system.
Get out in the sun daily.
Without sunscreen. Did you know that in the early 1900s tuberculosis was cured by people spending time in the sun? When people were sick, bed sheets were washed and hung out to dry in the sun to disinfect them. The sun is healing and necessary for all living organisms. Yes, you need to be careful and prevent burning, but please do not shelter yourself from the healing rays of the sun. Use sunscreens only if necessary and make sure the brand that you use does not contain harmful chemicals.
Exercise.
That dreaded word. When you are active and get your heart rate up, it helps the body get oxygen to cells and helps cells remove toxins. It also strengthens your heart and lungs. It helps you feel good. Children like to run and be active because it is natural for them to do that. We should follow their lead.
Get enough sleep.
Make sure you get restorative sleep without the use of drugs, as this is the time for your body to refresh all systems.
Manage your stress.
We cannot get rid of stress as it seems to be part of our culture, but we can all learn to manage it and decrease the destruction it causes to our body. Learning mindfulness has helped many people deal with stress.
Take Vitamin D.
Take enough to get your level over 45 ng/dl. More and more studies are coming out with data that shows improved health and healing with higher levels of Vitamin D.
Take a good multivitamin.
Because our food supply is no longer providing us with even the minimum nutrients, we all need to supplement. Make sure the supplements you choose do not contain harmful ingredients like preservatives, aspartame, artificial colors and flavors. Your body cannot work well if it does not have the tools it needs daily.
Take extra Vitamin C.
Because we are exposed to so many toxins from air, water, food, and/or drugs, we need more nutrients. Your body needs Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to form blood vessels, cartilage, muscle, and collagen in bones. Vitamin C is also vital to your body’s healing process.
Understand your microbiome.
This is a tough one to explain. Ongoing research continues to teach us the importance of the microbiome, the microscopic bacteria and viruses that surround us and live within us. They play a very important part in our well-being. We know that we need to be exposed to germs and viruses in small doses so that our immune systems can learn to recognize bad bugs and deal with them. We have a mixture of good and bad bugs and viruses throughout our bodies: in the nose, on the hands, and in the gut. We need these bugs in the right quantities to keep us healthy. Trying to get rid of all germs on our bodies and in our homes is more detrimental than we originally thought. When we use antibiotics, it kills the bad bugs, but also some of the good ones, thereby creating a greater challenge to our immune system. Using antibacterial soap and hand sanitizers is controversial as they kill off both good and bad bugs. However, in the current pandemic situation the use of sanitizers has been shown to be useful in controlling the spread of the coronavirus. But antibacterial soaps and sanitizers have also been shown to dry out your hands and cause small cracks in them that allow bad bugs to get in. Mild soap and water is sufficient to get rid of dirt and surface bugs, so save the hand sanitizers for the times when soap and water are not available.
Most of us have heard these messages and yet we don’t make the connection to self-care with these activities. It is important to take these steps now to help us deal with this virus, and the next one, and the one after that. No matter what you think about this pandemic and its origin, we need to adjust to a new awareness of how to care for ourselves so that we can live a life without fear and feel good about ourselves and each other.
