4 Things That Help Me During These COVID-19 Times

This post focuses on four things, in no particular order, that I'm finding to be helpful during these COVID-19 times in which we are living. Stress management is an important part of diabetes management.

Stress reduction during COVID-19

My strategies are below:

Gardening

I spend an hour every day digging in the dirt and prepping my garden - mapping out where the tomatoes, marigolds (they keep the bad bugs away from tomatoes), peppers, and greens will go. Putting stones and dirt in pots that will soon contain herbs including basil, dill, rosemary, and lemon thyme. Gardening allows me to focus on the earth and all that is good. Gardening makes me happy! Bonus points: Gardening is great exercise and is awesome for our blood sugars!

Phoning a friend

Throughout the day I reach out to friends and family to check-in. Sometimes it’s a phone call or text, other times it's a scheduled Zoom hour with friends and family. No matter the type of connection, those connections are an important part of my day and lessen the isolation.

Cooking

Now that I have more time to cook, I’m cooking more breakfasts and lunches. I’m taking the time to sit down at the table and eat my breakfast instead of eating on-the-go. I'm slicing berries in the morning to have in yogurt or with my peanut butter toast and eating scrambled eggs with sautéed veggies from my prepped veggie container in the fridge for lunch. My next experiment: Low carb ginger cookies!

Continuing with mindful meditation

I’ve enjoyed my Saturday morning online mindful meditation class that I’ve been taking and just enrolled in the next round of weekly online classes. I’ve found a great teacher and I look forward to my Saturday morning class. It’s a great way to end the week and start a new one. My mindful meditation class helps me with my anxiety and makes me feel calm and more focused on all that’s good. Also: I think it positively impacts my blood sugars!

So, what things are you finding helpful?