staying sane in these insane times

All advice given is based on what resilient people do during difficult times in their lives.

The goal during this difficult time is to go through this crisis without making it worse, so here are the 3 “Stay” secrets to follow during this isolation.

1. Stay realistic. No one will tell you that this is easy. It is hard for everyone. Actually resilient people understand this concept from a very early point in their life: that difficult times happen to all of us and this is part of life. Resilient people do not ask why me, but rather wonder every day why not me. In other words, resilient people understand that we all, without any exception, go through difficulties, and this is part of life. Actually studies have shown that a fair amount of difficult times in ones life builds character, makes one stronger and teaches one how to be a fighter. This is why child psychologists always encourage parents to set strict and fair boundaries for their children. This way, they can better prepare them for the unavoidable difficult times in life. It is during difficult times that we learn how to regulate our emotions and learn how to manage anger, sadness, boredom, and depression effectively.
2. Stay focused on what is working, rather than on what is not going right. Become part of the solution, not the problem. Use strategies that work. For example, during weekdays make sure you set a schedule just like your usual weekday and show up for life. Wake up the usual time you would wake up, do your chores, school work, exercise etc, just like you would do any other day. When it is time for coffee or relaxing times, call your friends on the phone and have coffee together. Eat meals together, cook, clean and do what you always do.
3. Stay mindful in the here and now. Stop making horror movies in your head. Teach your mind to become the boss of you and do not allow your thoughts to take over. Thoughts are just thoughts, nothing else. They cannot predict the future, and they cannot become anything else unless you let them to. Our thoughts follow these five steps.
   1. a thought appears in your mind
   2. you start noticing the thought
   3. you start having a conversation with your thought
   4. you believe your thoughts as if they are a reality
   5. all the steps happen so fast and so automatic that you start feeling overwhelm all due to just a thought. So the solution, is catch yourself on step 1, and choose to make your thoughts a background noise instead of your reality by staying mindful in the here and now. spend more time in your life than in your head.