We’re all in right? This long-haul stressful boat of a pandemic. Some people have life preservers, some have yachts, some are just treading water – but we can’t get away from it. We’re wandering around on this marble rock, floating around in space with a deadly invisible cloud hovering around the entire planet. Mind boggling!
I have to say, in my lifetime I have never seen people so divisively opinionated about health. Wear a mask, don’t wear a mask, how often you should wash your hands or when and if you should be wearing gloves. Its just incredibly stressful! And over the long haul, as I’m discovering, its exhausting. I was having a hard time with stress, anxiety and depression BEFORE all of this happened – now I can’t even remember what it was that I was stressed about! Can you? Looking back, February seemed so blissful. I’m sure that it wasn’t, but it sure looks that way in the rearview.
Its all about survival right? If you’re reading this, you’ve found some “work arounds” for survival and hopefully for your mental health. After some frantic treading of water, I did too and thought I would share them. (Yes, I realize its a little late, but it has taken me this long to get my head out of the sand. Go me!) In any case, at the beginning of the Great Shutdown of 2020, I had a terrible time sleeping. I was so anxious, I couldn’t calm down enough to be able to sleep. After many exhausted evenings and some research and a leap of faith I downloaded the Calm app for my phone. I have to admit I was skeptical, but there is a 7 day trial period so I could try out the app before subscribing for a year. Spoiler: by day 3, I was hooked. This was hands down the best money that I spent during quarantine. There are many categories of relaxation in the app: sleep stories (my favorite), relaxation, ambient music, soundscapes, meditations, kids stories, etc. There is always something new including celebrity readings and meditations which is kind of fun. Matthew McConaughey reads a soothing story called Wonder and Ramon Tikaram narrates a guide through 1920s Hyde Park in London. I’ve discovered voice actors that I now look forward to listening to like Erik Braa and I have a new love of “train stories” – yes, that’s a thing and its exactly what it sounds like. It’s an audio tour of a railroad journey such as the Orient Express or the Trans-Siberian Railroad as you drift off to sleep. It is just interesting enough to allow my mind to relax and just soothing enough to allow me to drift off to sleep. Seriously – I’m such a fan.
There are some downsides… I have woken up in the morning tangled in my headphones. (Don’t be jealous of my oh-so-glamorous lifestyle… but I do sleep now. hmmm.) This probably just means I need to get one of those headband earbud things, but I haven’t actually found it irritating enough to stop doing it. I also have had to get used to plugging my phone in after I wake up, instead of waking up to a fully charged phone. Again – not the end of the world, just a change of habits. And I suppose not irritating enough for me to stop listening to my sleep stories. Not sure if there are other downsides. I guess the cost? I have to say though, I definitely see where the cost is worth it for the quality app, so I don’t really consider that a downside – just the cost of a product.
If you have relaxation or stress relief apps that work for you I’d love to hear about them. In the meantime, plug in and get some rest.
Goodnight!
PinksWhirled 