Coping with Corona, week 3: Supporting each other during quarantine

Week 3 of the quarantine, we're all starting to feel the grind. Local mental health agencies note that "self-care is more important than ever" (see article in Good Morning Wilton). Today we share more ideas & resources for getting through this period and for helping our families.

Create structure in your day: The last couple of weeks have been disorienting.

• To rebalance, plan out a daily schedule with your household members that incorporates work/school time; together time; check-in calls with friends or neighbors; doing something creative; doing something relaxing; and getting fresh air and exercise.

• A fun inclusive way to get exercise--which is proven to help alleviate stress and depression--is Oak Hill CT's Adaptive Gym classes on Facebook Live and YouTube, which are exercises that people of all abilities can do together, or Toivo in Hartford for daily online wellness activities such as yoga and Qi-Gong.

• End each day with an evening inventory:

Get online or phone support for mental health & substance use and crisis:

• Crisis support is available 24/7 in many forms (download flyer):

• Free warmlines and daily "connection" meetings, recovery meetings, and more are all available (updated flyer):

• We appreciate the Southwest CT Mental Health System for extending the hours of the Soundview Warmline to meet demand!

• The Hub's calendar lists phone and online meetings and wellness activities here so you can pick and choose each day and click on a link to open the activities. In the last week, new online additions include NAMI Southwest CT, CCAR and The C.A.R.E.S. Group meetings going online.

Stay positive and practice gratitude:

• Focus on things you can do while quarantined rather than things you can't: this can be a time for those back-burner projects.

• Take time to appreciate those around us: heroic healthcare workers on the front line, dedicated teachers adapting daily to the new normal, our neighbors and friends who are checking in, community groups moving operations and social support online. Send someone a thank-you note (here).

• We should also be grateful for the technology that makes it possible for so many of us to work and study at home, to play games with friends, have dinner with quarantined family, and attend worship services online!

(Video accessibility: Click on YouTube, then CC icon to turn on subtitles.)

Help someone else: Finding ways to be helpful is fulfilling, connects us socially, and lets us do something active at a time when we may feel disemempowered. Donate food, call a neighbor, walk someone's dog, cook for someone who's sick. To volunteer as a health professional, register at CT Responds.

Support your kids around mental health & substance use: This is a good time to open up conversations with your whole family around social supports, self-esteem, substance use, and more:

• Resources from the Social-Emotional Learning Alliance for the US here

• Pathways to Empower, by CT resident Donna Volpitta, is making social-emotional videos & resources for nursery through 5th grade available (free and $5) here

• Great advice from Positive Directions (Westport) and the Search Institute (click to open and scroll through images):

Videos & discussion resources to support resilience and prevent substance use for middle and high school students and families from "Natural High" here

• Courageous Parenting online education for parents around substance use awareness and prevention, from Norwalk-based Courage to Speak, here

• Check-in At Home activities from the CT-based Jordan Porco Foundation (creator of Fresh Check Day) -- click images to open:

More resources

In case you missed it:

• Our first Coping with Corona post has a helpful video and other resources about managing your mental health during this stressful time, how to talk with your family, and free online mental health supports.

• Our second Coping with Corona post is a FAQ with info on recovery supports, Spanish resources, info on accessing teletherapy, and info for providers, as well as a gallery of downloadable flyers of more free online support options.

• For recommendations to providers about behavioral health during the pandemic, visit SAMHSA's coronavirus page here.

• For the latest information about coronavirus in Connecticut, dial 2-1-1 or text CTCOVID to 898211 or visit ct.gov/coronavirus.

Be well!

-Your friends at The Hub: Amy, Eliza, Ella, Giovanna, Margaret, Rai

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