Pace Yourself
I sprained my ankle on Friday night. Strapped into high heels for the first time in 15 months, I scurried across a busy street carrying a bottle of wine (hostess gift) in one hand and my purse (mask, lipstick, dental floss, car keys, phone) in the other. Splayed out on the sidewalk like a newborn giraffe, my eyes moistened. And it dawned on me: I’ve been multitasking during the pandemic yet am completely unprepared for the realities of post-pandemic life.
Our inboxes are overflowing. Our schedules are filling up. Brides are back in action, breathlessly making their way down the altar. Graduates pose for paparazzi, squinting and smiling next to grandma. Restaurants, bars, and hair salons are open in full swing. In-person work and social events are back in vogue. In the US, we’re beyond fortunate — and gratefully so — to watch the vaccines crush COVID-19 and allow us to resume the semblance of normalcy.
On the surface, life is looking a lot more like 2019. But often underneath the trappings of weddings and clambakes and office shindigs are a complicated mix of emotions. And just because our cup runneth over with immunity and social opportunity doesn’t make our ambivalence about reentry any less real. Let’s talk about it.
The vaccines protect us from COVID-19 and essentially block transmission to others. They are powerful weapons against all of the circulating variants, including Delta. They are the clear path forward.
We’re supposed to celebrate the outward signs of winning the war on COVID-19. Yet the vaccines can’t protect us from the emotional toll of the pandemic. There’s also no amount of lipstick — no yoga pose, scented candle, or meditation — that can offset the accumulated distress we’ve experienced. We’ve lost loved ones, jobs, and our in-person classroom experiences. For over a year, our lives have been upended, our routines tossed out the window, our social structures disintegrated. These don’t come back overnight. Nor do our brains rebound that fast after collective trauma.
We’ve also been told to feel hopeful. Indeed we have every reason to be optimistic. Death rates and hospitalizations are falling fast. Yet another miraculous vaccine from Novavax is on the horizon, with 90% overall efficacy and 100% efficacy against severe disease. It’s truly an embarrassment of riches in the US.
But hope alone won’t get the job done. Hope is necessary but not sufficient to emotionally ferry us through this next chapter. We need more than a shot in the arm to reclaim our health and well-being.
Nowadays I’m spending much of my time with patients talking about the post-pandemic “clean-up.” We take stock of their nutrition, sleep, body mechanics, mental health, and relationships with food, alcohol, work, and family. Most people’s everyday health habits have been disorganized at best and, in many cases, overtly disordered. Even though most of my patients are vaccinated, they (like I!) have got some digging out to do after a year of haphazard eating, interrupted sleep, and topsy-turvy work schedules. Necks and backs ache, blood sugars and blood pressures are up, and the open spigot of stress hormones has yet to fully turn off for most.
My advice to my patients of course depends on the person — and is the same as what I’m telling myself — but we always go back to basics:
Sleep. Sleep is often the first thing to go when we’re under duress. We either stay up too late, sleep fitfully, or wake up at 3 am when life’s existential crises seem solvable. A good 7-8 hours of restful sleep is a balm for our physical and mental health. It’s essential for mood, stress management, focus, concentration, metabolism, and energy. I, for one, am a heck of a lot less irritable and a whole lot more productive when I’m rested. So let’s create a bedtime routine and prioritize sleep. It’s a smart — and free — investment in your health and well-being.
Nutrition. The pandemic caused so many people’s eating habits to go off the rails. Whether it’s noshing late at night, snacking all day, restricting calories, or stress-eating, for so many people, food is about more than just hunger. So while eating nutritious food is important (yes to fruits, veggies, lean protein, and healthy fats), so is examining our relationship with food. As we emerge from the pandemic, it’s worth re-evaluating: am I getting enough nourishment? Am I over-eating when stressed? Do I gravitate toward certain foods that have nothing to do with hunger? For some people, keeping a food journal can offer a window into their emotional health and can help them stay on track with healthful eating.
Movement. Exercise takes time, energy, and motivation and is often the last thing we want to do when our schedules — and sciatic nerves — are pinched. Yet regular physical activity is good for everything from dementia and diabetes to anxiety to arthritis. Just remember: it doesn’t have to be fancy, formal, or fanatical. A morning walk around the block or 5-minutes of yoga stretches at bedtime count! To build back a routine, start slow, be realistic about your goals, and take it one day at a time.
Mental health. Our collective mental health has taken a beating. As individuals, it’s healthy to take a hard look at our moods, anxiety, external stressors, everyday habits, and relationships. They’re intrinsically related and inform our health in meaningful ways. I’d love to have a one-size-fits-all solution for anticipatory anxiety, for example, about sending an unvaccinated child to daycare or for grieving the loss of a loved one from COVID, but I don’t. My best advice for you is to name the feelings (hence my Periodic Table of the Emotions), recognize their connection to your daily habits (sleeping, eating, moving, and relating to other people), and realize their relevance to your health. That, dear readers, is a good place to start!
Now that we’re rounding the bend of the pandemic, in future newsletters I’ll delve more into the intersectionality of mental and physical health.
The upshot?
Pace yourself. Just because you’re vaccinated doesn’t mean you have to accept every invitation, stay out past your bedtime, and compromise your health for the sake of saying YES.
By the way, I had a great time at the party Friday night. I drank a wee bit too much champagne and stayed out too late. But it was worth it to let loose and see old friends. Though my ankle is banged up, it’s a new day tomorrow. (And next Friday I’m staying in.)
I will see you later this week. Until then, be well.