Science-Based Wellness Tips

In a recent Washington Post article, a psychology professor and therapist offered some thoughtful (and science-based!) wellness tips that we thought would be nice to share with you as you attend your first week of online classes at C|M|LAW during the COVID-19 crisis. Here’s a summary of the tips, with some of my own thoughts thrown in:

• Acknowledge and accept that you’ll have negative emotions like anxiety, sadness, and anger.
• Create new routines for yourself, but don’t over-rely on distractions like Netflix or gaming.
• In your new routines, incorporate a regular schedule for sleeping, meal times, and grooming, and stick to it.
• Take advantage of the situation and learn something new (something non-law related that has always piqued your interest but you never got around to doing).
• Readjust what you need to do to create regular self-care that includes exercise, healthy eating, and regular socializing.
• Schedule a self-care day for yourself and treat yourself to something (or many somethings!) really nice.
• Enjoy nature any way you can. Get out for a walk or even look outside at the trees. Houseplants count as nature as far as I know…
• Look for the positive. We may all become more resilient, more gritty, and more self-reliant with potentially closer personal relationships on the flip side. And I guarantee everyone will be masters at online learning.

Check out the law library’s Mental Health and Well-Being Guide for additional resources.

Source: Jelena Kecmanovic, “A Psychologist’s Science-Based Tips for Emotional Resilience During the Coronavirus Crisis,” Washington Post (March 16, 2020). Fulltext link