March 2020

Hello all,

Greetings to you today. I hope this newsletter finds you healthy and calm, despite the public health crisis and collective overwhelm. We are in uncertain and unprecedented times to be sure. I have lots of thoughts and emotional reactions swirling in my own head right now—just want to collect a few key ideas and a little hope for you today. I had a whole March newsletter ready to go last week that centered around middle school friendships, how to combat springtime stress for teenagers (often a time of increased anxiety with school, AP exams, college acceptances, and rejections), and mid-life searching for meaning. As the hours unfolded at the end of last week, it felt like the content for my newsletter needed an entire shift!! All of sudden, all three of my kids were home for homeschool….mental health practitioners were moving to complete Telehealth platforms instead of in-person meetings…and the world was slowly shutting down and practicing “social distancing.”

There is no doubt that time has slowed down. Spouses are working from home, children are learning at home, and we have more time alone with our precious few. For some families, this is a huge emotional strain—possibly it’s hard to be with a spouse when you are disconnected from one another, hard to teach your children when they have special needs, or you have a high need for personal space and all this “family time” is overwhelming you. Sending strength to all of you—be curious about what you learn about yourself during this challenging time. Maybe you will reconnect, strengthen bonds, increase your capacity for empathy for yourself and others. All challenges can be an opportunity for growth if we allow it. 

For many, it may become a cherished period in one’s life (assuming that one is healthy and not suffering from Coronavirus)—where we are forced to SLOW DOWN. This is an opportunity for our culture to reset our priorities and re-evaluate what truly makes us tick and how we want to spend our time moving forward. There are aspects about the quarantine/“social distancing” that are positive: more rest, less commuting, time with family, cooking all meals at home, no organized sports or activities allows for creative play/reading/walks, and jogs/quality time…the list goes on. It is a time to look inward and help guide your children in the same direction. What can we learn about ourselves during this time?  What observations can we write down that will inform the way we carry on in the future when things get more “back to normal?” What do we observe about the personalities of our children during this time? How can we calm and cope during a crisis? How have we coped in the past that is helping us now? What are the unique ways that our children are coping and what can we learn from them? How can we stay in the present moment and not jump to a fear reaction from an emotional, financial, and parenting perspective?

NOTEWORTHY ARTICLES

“Parents Need Stress Relief Too” by Jessica Grose, NY Times.

Highlights some good reminders during this most unique parenting time! Parents, be patient with yourselves and patient with your kids!! You can do this.

Love this article “What If…” by Gurpreet K. Gill.

Lots of good ideas for contemplation. What would your “What If…” article say? What if you created an activity to do with your child where they could write the lessons/contemplations they have living through this pandemic?

“Coronavirus News has Us Anxious and Sad. Here Are 11 Things We’ve Seen that Have Lifted Our Spirits.” Washington Post article.

❤️  LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS ARTICLE.  ❤️

SOME LEVITY

PARENTING TIPS

Use this time with your kids to develop other skills and focus on Social-Emotional Intelligence (which has been proven to be more effective in life success and happiness than classical learning of subject matters).

Stacy, Meaghan, and I will be doing Telehealth sessions for the time being. Please know that we are there for those in the community who need support. I have even discovered a HIPAA compliant platform to conduct our group therapy sessions—hooray! The collective experience and support are important during this time.   

Sending good wishes for health, love, support, strength, and faith during this trying time. There is so much good in the world, despite the chaos. Search for the good always!

Let’s take good care of ourselves, support our valiant health care workers, our isolated loved ones in hospitals, our seniors that can’t receive visitors or need help with groceries, our impoverished families who aren’t getting paid or don’t have enough food, small business owners that are fearful…LOTS of good that we can do to help do our part right now.

Don’t get stuck, get moving, and keep doing the next right thing for yourself and your family.

Best,
Leah

Newsletter, MarchLeah NiehausnewsletterComment