Five steps to keeping physically, mentally and emotionally healthy during these tough times

Kathleen Anderson

Thurston County has been enjoying Phase Three of the COVID-19 Pandemic for a couple of weeks now, and once again, the news is full of doom and gloom.

COVID Cases are increasing again…  New varieties of the virus have reached our shores. Does the vaccine work for all of the variants or just one? How long does the vaccine last? Will we need a booster shot for the rest of our lives like we do for the flu? Are the kids safe? Experts are contradicting each other…no definitive answers are in sight…

This has been the longest lasting ‘dis-ease’ in my lifetime and I am DONE!

As a senior, I am lucky enough to have received both shots currently offered. As a senior, I have been consistently cautious about venturing out in public – always observing social distancing and wearing a mask.

I have refrained from both beating my head against a shelf full of cans and screaming my lungs out at the grocery store, when once again I realized I was going the wrong way, down an aisle marked with an arrow pointing in the opposite direction.

If I need something other than items found at the grocery store, I order it online. I attend weekly Lions Club meetings via ZOOM online.

I am healthy and for that I am grateful.

I interview people over the phone for information for this column. If I run into a friend at the grocery store, I am unable to greet them with a hug and I probably miss that more than anything else.

I know I have no control over those who choose to go out in public without masks, meeting and greeting people in their circles with personal contact or traveling to other states to attend spring break parties with thousands of their peers.

Perhaps they are smarter than me – living for today instead of tomorrow – time will tell. 

But for now, even though I have been vaccinated, I will continue to play it safe – not so much for myself but more for others.

My healthcare provider recently sent me some additional information for staying safe in your own home.

According to Providence Health Care, there are five steps to keeping physically, mentally and emotionally healthy during these tough times.

1. Stay active: whatever your level of activity is, do something – walk, play golf or tennis, practice your yoga or do chair exercises.
2. Be Curious: Take up a new hobby, learn a new language, do crossword puzzles or take a class online.
3. Be Positive: This can be a tough one. Meditation can help, along with self-pep talks and sharing your feelings with others. Try to remember that this, too, will end. Laugh every chance you get – even if it’s by yourself.
4. Stay Connected: Visit with friends and family members via Zoom, Facetime, phone calls or letters and notes.
5. Be Vigilant: Wear the mask in public, wash your hands often and stay a few feet apart when with folks other than your immediate family members.

Now that spring is here and the weather is a little warmer, put on an extra sweater and keep a few windows open. Fresh cool air is the enemy of this virus.

There is no new news here. We’ve been told all these things again and again. Until there is new news, I will follow these instructions and I hope you will too.

I am grateful we were able to gather with our families for the recent holiday. I am grateful I was able to go along with my great-granddaughter on her Easter Egg Hunt this year and enjoyed the pictures online of the great-grandchildren in other states finding theirs.

But I still miss the personal interaction and the hugs from friends…So please, do your part – let’s put an end to this nonsense once and for all.

Stay safe.

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week.  Contact her at  kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.