Why having a resilience toolkit is essential during COVID19

Why having a resilience toolkit is ESSENTIAL during COVID19.


Having a resilience toolkit is essential. Life inevitably ebbs and flows. When we are living fully, we experience great triumphs and great losses. Being human is experiencing ups and downs, but when we experience downs, we don’t need to remain down. Resilience is getting ourselves back up. We cannot always rely on external circumstances to improve and give us a hand out of the hole we are stuck in. We need to carry a resilience toolbox, so that when we are in these holes, we can pull out the ladders and stools to more efficiently get out. 


Since the start of COVID19, many of us have found ourselves in this hole. Globally, people have lost jobs, closed businesses, cancelled weddings, missed funerals and births, and resources for coping have dissolved. No longer can we visit a counsellor, shop, see friends, or access the things that helped us to balance, whether healthy, or unhealthy. The stillness to be with our emotions is here, whether we can handle it, or not. Divorce rates increase and anxiety surges. Sometimes the ups and downs are bearable, and sometimes they are so powerful, they destroy relationships, or sabotage the future. Maybe you are really struggling with this transition, or maybe you are enjoying the peace and feeling like this was just the relief you were looking for, a break from your busy life. 


Regardless of the severity of your feelings in this moment, you need tools for resilience. You may have some already and I encourage you to share them with everyone you know. 


A resilience toolkit is a series of tools to promote wellness. It includes tools you use often and tools you use less often. It can even include tools you have never used before. 


I encourage you to make your tool kit as big and practical as possible. 


If you stockpile anything during the COVID19 pandemic, let it be tools for resiliency.


Here is what my toolkit looks like:



For everyday use

-Make a cup of tea 

-Healthy and enjoyable food (take time to eat) 

-Gratitude journal (I AM RESILIENT.)

-Exercise

-Nature

-Sleep (7-9 hours)

-Vitamin D

-Connecting with friends and family

-Be present

-Allow Joy

For the harder days

-Mantras

-Long walks (5-10km)

-The ocean

-Phone-free hikes

-Happy food (ex grapefruit, raspberries)

-Ayurvedic supplements (brahmi/ gotu kola)

-Call my sister

-Email a counsellor

-Meditation (ex. headspace)

Never used, but always available

-Crisis lines

-Emergency room