Setting Boundaries and Practicing Grounding
In these times of uncertainty and challenge, it’s even more critical for us to lean into self-care and perhaps adjust our practices to ensure we are giving ourselves care that accounts for the situation around us. It’s normal to feel many emotions during these times, and it’s even more important to allow yourself to feel, process your feelings, and work on letting them go. It is also important to set boundaries around activities that are not serving us and our emotions well.
As an example, it can be easy to start the process of endless scrolling and seeking information, and that’s okay. You can let yourself scroll online, through social media, or watch tv for updates, but make sure you give yourself an endpoint. Find a way to allow yourself a way out of it, especially if it is promoting your fear and anxiety. If you listen closely to yourself, you’ll know when you should stop, but if that is difficult, and it can be, it can also be useful to do something like set a timer to help, or stay standing to set boundaries around the activity. Once the timer goes off, or you feel yourself about to sit down, step away from or turn off the phone, tv, tablet or computer; create distance between yourself and the activity. Then, I invite you to practice some grounding. Bring yourself to what’s important in the moment. Perhaps, you can ask yourself the following questions:
What do I need support with right now? Who can I reach out to for that?
Who can use my support right now? What should I do to reach out to them?
Then reach out or create a plan to reach out to them. Connection and checking on people is so important right now when we are physically isolated. Luckily, we’ve been given tools and opportunities to connect in many ways without needing physical interactions. This is the time to utilize those tools….for connection, inclusion and showing care.
Please remember to give yourself great care, practice grounding and peace, and identify and focus on what you can control. Most of all, remember to breathe, deeply and often and again.
Sending you love and peaceful energy, and if I can support you in some way, please let me know.