We all have to make adjustments during this unprecedented global crisis, and therapists have adapted our practice to continue serving clients virtually. Here's guidance for you as we learn together.

A Few Tips on How to Handle this Time of "Social Distancing"

· Maintain a daily schedule, no matter how much you don’t want to or don’t think you should have to.· Change your clothes every morning… even if changing from one pair of sweatpants to another, change them. When you don’t, the brain associates staying in our PJs all day (specifically, the clothes that we slept in) as something negative… we don’t feel good, we’re depressed, something is wrong, etc.· Do all of your regular acts of daily living: take a shower daily, brush your teeth (even if there is no one around to smell your dragon breath), trim your fingernails, shave or maintain any body-scaping, wear deodorant, keep your spaces tidy. I could go on… just maintain like you would during any other day or week.· If you’re working remotely, prepare yourself just as you would any other day going to work on site. Maybe it is a wardrobe “mullet” with professional on top, and casual on the bottom. Preparing yourself for the roles you have helps you engage the necessary parts of your brain that you need for those roles. It works on the deep associations we have for how we exist when we go to work, and it improves productivity during times of telework.· Following that up, find ways to shift from work to home to create healthy separation from mental headspaces you need to engage throughout the day. We don’t need this when we occasionally work from home, but hear me out… The days will begin to run together. You will get your days confused, and that will unnerve you. If you prepared yourself for work (see above), then you can “dissemble” yourself just as you would upon returning home from your work site. Perhaps you change your clothes, remove accessories/jewelry, wash up, put on your “comfy clothes” and house shoes (or maybe that is just me). You can still do this with your wardrobe mullet (referenced above), STILL CHANGE THE CASUAL BOTTOMS. You need to create a cognitive and emotional shift for healthy work-related boundaries and mind-shift.· Another way to shift is to light scented candles like you would when returning home. Turn on emotionally neutral-to-positive music. Turn off/down the lights in your workspace, and turn them on in another area (e.g., living room). Close your laptop, put your computer in sleep mode, and collapse your workspace as small as possible to reduce its literal space around you.· Move your body in the routine just as you did before, even if looks different for now. Take walks, alone or as a household. Join a local fitness community in some Facebook Live groups or find videos on YouTube. Try a familiar style of yoga in video format, or engage it through a studio who is live online. Don’t abandon your health right now; of all the times, this is when you need to prioritize your health the most.· Go outside throughout the day. We NEED fresh air (even when cloudy) and connection to nature always (read: green stuff), especially during times like this. So much research suggests that spending time outside and with green landscape is therapeutic.· Limit your exposure to the news. Look at only science-based resources for up-to-date facts. Set a timer and only check credible news sources every couple hours. If there is something "breaking," rest assured that you'll get it in your next news check, via text, someone will call you, and you know you’ll see it on social media.· Stay connected to your community. Some folks struggle with this during non-public health crisis times. It doesn’t have to be hour-long FaceTime conversations. Send a text, respond to an email or DM, and for the love of non-pandemic life, give someone a call. But really, it is too easy to get isolated because “I’m not a phone person.”· On a related note, have virtual meal with someone! Or coffee, or happy hour… I’m looking forward to this tomorrow with some beloved colleagues by whom I feel normalized, comforted, and entertained. How to do it: make your own meal, coffee, etc., and start a video chat via FaceTime, Skype, Google Hangouts, or any other social media video platform. Truly folks, I don’t like video chatting; however, right now, it is a God send.You may not think you need this. I urge you to reconsider or act on the safe side, and not find out if you do. If you wait, it’s harder to regroup with everything going on. Our bodies crave routine and consistency, and our body will be there for us more if we find ways to create routine and familiarity for it.