8 Stress Management Activities That will Keep You Sane During Social-Isolation

These stress-relieving activities will help you keep your cool during social isolation. Social distancing is hard and these stress management techniques will help you relax. We can all use a bit of stress-relief during social isolation with our families.

Stress Management activities for Parents in Social-Isolation

Many of us are in the same boat right now; we are at home self-isolating with our families and we are completely out of our regular routines. That alone can take a huge toll on a person’s mental health! To top it all off some of us have been laid off and many of us don’t know when we will be returning to work. Others continue to work in the essential services continue to save lives or keep our grocery stores open so we can eat (thank you by the way!!!). My husband works in healthcare and every time he leaves for work all I can do is hope that everyone is following protocol and staying home if they can.

In the meantime, I’m home with the kids all day and I don’t know about you but I need to find ways to stay sane! The days can seem long when we stay home and sometimes it feels like we have catered to little people all day without having done anything for ourselves. So here are a bunch of activities we can do to relieve stress during self-isolation:

Stress Management Activities to Rock Your World

1. Take a hot bath

   Have I done this yet during social-isolation? No, but it seems like a lovely thing to do to help us feel relaxed after the kids go to bed. Just add water. Water makes everything better. Staying hydrated helps too!

2. Get Crafty

   You probably have a dusty bin of craft supplies somewhere. Dust it off and get creative. Paint the rocks, sculpt the sculpture, sketch the sketch, scrap the scrapbook… wait that doesn’t sound right… you know what I mean.

3. Do yoga online

   My favourite is Yoga with Adriene on Youtube. Start a 30 day challenge so you are a bit more motivated to continue day after day. I’m on day 3 of the challenge and so far so good. Here’s a link to Day 1 of the Home yoga challenge.

4. Take a NAP

   Naps are glorious. Embrace the nap. If we want to use our time at home to be productive then that’s cool but let’s try to remember that it’s ok to just chill sometimes. I love the good old “netflix and nap.” It’s when you put on a show, lie down on the couch and watch it for a few minutes before dozing. #bliss #netflixandnap #idontthinkthatsarealhashtag

5. Walk it Out

   If your kids are like any kids I have ever met, they need to get outside. For some reason we can relieve stress so much easier when we are outside. If you are still able to go outside where you live then go for a walk! We like to walk on the trail by our house or go to a beach (staying far enough away from others of course!). It’s fun to go on a nature hunt as well and make nature crowns after with the kiddos. Here I have some helpful hints to keep people and germs away from your baby.

6. Host or attend a virtual party!

My daughter accidentally video-called some friends on a group chat at 7 am this morning and it turned out to be a really fun way to start the day! It’s also fun to use Zoom (you can use it for free up to 45 minutes) and have a virtual girls night, double date or play date. Cheers!

7. Spa day at home

Face masks, DIY mani or pedi, exfoliate, buff and shine. Just because we are at home doesn’t mean we can’t take care of ourselves! I love getting acrylic nail manis but let’s kick it old school and use regular nail polish for a while. Have a look at this photo of my kids getting their toes did by Mama.

Or this IG post about my view on letting little kids paint their nails and be “girly.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Breyen at Oui Madame Wee (@ouimadamewee) on Feb 20, 2020 at 11:32am PST

8. Meditate like a Boss

The Calm app is offering some free meditation stories and resources to help us manage stress during social-isolation. I know it can be hard to fit this in the day, especially if your tiny humans are following you everywhere, including the bathroom. Morning, before the kids are up or after they are bed seem to be the best times for this. I like to listen in bed before I fall asleep right after writing in my journal. You can find some journal prompts for self-care here.

Bonus: If you have kids, set up an easy sensory activity for them (when the kids are busy you can take some time to practice self-care and maybe even create a new Self-Care Space in your home.

I feel like the most important thing for us to do during this time is to give ourselves grace. We are out of our regular routines, the future is so unknown and that can be stressful. I hope these stress-relieving ideas are helpful and that you give them a try. :)

How have you been managing stress during social-isolation?

-Breyen

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