Rainy Days & Mondays; caring for kids with the “Isolation Blues” (part 1)

“Hangin’ around,

Nothin’ to do but frown,

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”

~The Carpenters~

The “blues” are a normal part of life. Mondays, rainy days, down days, off days, bad days. Feeling “down” is as normal and integral to life as feeling “up”, and the rainy days remind us to be thankful for the sunshine. But lately, we’ve had a deluge of rainy days, Mondays, and the new addition. . . “Blursdays”, often with few glimpses of sunshine in between. Many of us are raising concerns about the mental and emotional health of our families and communities. We are sheltering in place to stay physically “safe”, but are we taking the necessary steps to remain MENTALLY SANE and EMOTIONALLY SECURE as well? Just for ourselves, individually, we may be struggling. But for those of us who are parents, grandparents, or care-givers, we have much more than our own mental and emotional well-being to be concerned about.

With these concerns in mind, I’ve been reading, researching, gleaning, and brainstorming to accomplish one goal: to do my part to help arm the parents and care-givers of the world with the best tools available for caring for kids (as well as adults) who are currently struggling with the “Isolation Blues” or suffering from “Pandemic Panic”, as well as help prevent PTCD (“post-traumatic Covid disorder”). 

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“Sheltering in PEACE” while we shelter in PLACE

Holistic Homeschooling (as well as Holistic Parenting) is founded on the same principals as Holistic medicine which, as you may know, teaches us to care for the entire or whole person (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) and emphasizes the power of PREVENTION. Acting rather than reacting. Providing the necessary tools before it becomes urgent. The best medicine, the most effective therapy, the most powerful method, I believe, is almost always a preventative one. In regards to this pandemic, prevention to me looks like sheltering in PLACE to keep ourselves SAFE, but also sheltering in PEACE to keep ourselves mentally and emotionally SECURE. In other words, caring for our kids (as well as ourselves and other loved ones) holistically —in mind, body, and spirit.

Thankfully, there are some amazing mental health-care professionals that have stepped forward to champion this movement; helping equip the community with the necessary tools to fight against the mental and emotional fallout of Covid19. One such professional has written an incredible list of tools (sent to me by one of you!) that I will as expand on and attempt to bring to life throughout the week. So stay tuned! In the meantime, you can read that list in it’s entirety here: “Sheltering in PEACE” part 2: caring for kids with the “Isolation Blues”

In addition, I’ve organized my findings on this topic into FOUR BASIC SHIFTS we can make in our homes to preventatively and proactively embrace “sheltering in PEACE“ while we shelter in PLACE, holistically caring for our kids and the entire family. Over the next four posts, I will define and expand on each “shift” individually, bringing it to life through practical ideas and applications you can implement immediately into your family’s life or routine.

Here are the FOUR BASIC SHIFTS we will focus on this week to preventatively and proactively embrace “SHELTERING IN PEACE”:

Shift #1: From PROMOTING PANIC to FILTERING FEAR

Shift #2: From PASSIVITY to PURPOSE; giving our kids the satisfaction of intentional activity

Shift #3: From REPRESSION to SELF-EXPRESSION; using the arts to process difficult emotions

Shift #4: remove the SHADOW cast on the future and instill HOPE for tomorrow!

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BUT WAIT! In the meantime: How do we even know if our child is struggling with the “Isolation Blues” or suffering from “Pandemic Panic”? Those of us with talkative children may have it easy on this one, but not all kids will up and TELL US if they are feeling insecure or worried. They may seem fine on the surface, or brush us off when we inquire how they are doing. And above all, we don’t want to introduce or projects on our kids ideas or feelings that aren’t even there! So, here are some symptoms of distress to watch out for that your child MAY exhibit if he or she is struggling with the “Isolation Blues” or “Pandemic Panic”:

LACK of:

• energy
• interest or curiosity
• emotion (especially joy, humor, or vigor)
• focus (particularly on areas of interest)
• appetite
• sleep

EXCESS of:

• energy/hyperactivity
• emotion/sensitivity/tantrums/meltdowns
• nervous habits/worry
• control issues/OCD behaviors
• laziness/exhaustion
• binging (food, tv, video games)
• listlessness/no purpose

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THANK YOU for your part in caring holistically for our kids; our future leaders, our hope for tomorrow.

Please, join ~Our Holistic Homeschool~ this week as we embrace “sheltering in PEACE”; caring for our kids and loved ones struggling with the “Isolation Blues” or suffering from “Pandemic Panic”. 

 

Love, ~Our Holistic Homeschool~