Everyone is certainly well aware of the words self isolation and social distancing ,and if not well you soon will be. 

These words have become a necessity right now, with all the kaos of COVID19. 

Lots of jokes and funny memes are making their rounds.  I get it, we all need humour in times or kaos and stress, all while keeping safe and following the precautions being told to us. For many this is a coping method, a way to help us get through this pandemic that is sweeping the nation, not at all meant to lessen the severity of the crisis.

All joking aside though, for the many people living and battling PTSI ( Post Traumatic Stress Injury) and other Mental Health issues on a daily basis, self isolation can become deadly, really quick. I hope to share some light for those who don’t understand the serious dark side that Self Isolation can bring, as well as some ways to hopefully find ways to get through this time without letting the demons take full control of our minds.

I myself have seen the jokes about how us folks who like to practice social distancing even before we were being told too, and have even joked about how life hasn’t changed much because we don’t like crowds and being public anyways. As much as this may seem true, it is also a very scary time for so many.

The uncertainty, the unknowing, the lack of compliance by others, the hiddenness of this virus, all contribute to heightened anxiety levels for so many. I am not wanting to add to the scariness of this nor do I want to make light of this serious state the world is in.

What I hope to do is to explain to you all, how self isolation can quickly lead to depression, mind games, and loss of hope for so many.

The demons are opportunist, they exist to take advantage of circumstances.. The ultimate goal of these demons is to destroy you, using your own mind.

Oftentimes folks living with PTSI also struggle with depression and anxiety as well. Sadly these 3 can and often do go hand in hand.

 The demons love to see the onset of depression or anxiety, that sparks a fire for the demons to wake up and start to creep their way into our minds. As the depression starts, one will often try so hard to keep positive to keep busy and to hope to find some dim light somewhere that will give enough strength to just keep going. Sometimes this bit of light and hope is enough to fight off depression and keep our minds faintly focussed on the good in life,keep us barely hanging on day to day or hour to hour, waiting for something to get us back to a happier place.

Friends and family may do their best to help you see the good in life, to help you dig out of this depression. They try to help you see your worth, to help you see that you are loved, that you are needed and that you have a purpose in this world. 

The problem with this is that the demons have already been awoken, they are fighting all of this good that people are helping you see. For every positive and good thing that is in front of you, they have the damn power to wipe that out and beat you down mentally. They constantly are telling you negative things, telling you you are worthless. Every little bit of fear or anxiety you fight so hard everyday is the fuel these damn demons use. The demons have this way of making everything seem black. Every hour you fight off these demons they get stronger, while you get more and more exhausted. These demons, these intrusive thoughts, these negative images become so strong, we feel we can no longer fight them. 

First they destroy the vision of everything around you by using yourself as the weapon. Your tiredness, your frustration, your depression, your sadness, your anger, these are just a few of things these demons try to use to break you down. Whatever you do to try and keep positive and try and keep going, they will use this against you. They will take away the joy that you may have, they will take away your desire to do the things you used to love, they wear you down so you become so exhausted that you cannot fight any longer. 

Despite numerous efforts, pure love and encouragement, coaxing and reminding you how much you are loved, how important you are, how much purpose you have in life,  IN YOUR MIND, you feel like you have lost everything. Often everything is still right in front of us but the demons blind us. We see nothing but doom.

This is where the battle ground gets turned around. Your mind is now working against you, the demons have their grip and you feel like you have completely lost your grip on anything of any value.

This is where the slippery side of Self Isolation comes in. We are told to stay home, stay away from people and keep safe. So we do this, the first few days are not too bad, maybe even longer for some, and then the loneliness starts to creep in and the demons start to awake.

We turn to social media and the news to keep our mind occupied and busy. This can be good if you are able to weed out all the negatives, ignore all the panic that so many people are spreading, sadly that is very difficult to do. More now than ever social media and the news  are full of doom and gloom. 

Yes, with COVID19 being the main topic now, it is important to share the information to the world. 

However, the panic and fear that can accompany so much of this news just helps to give those demons even more power to take over our minds. To help us lose sight of joy and the life we are living. 

As scary as self isolation can be for many, it is truly so important at this time in the world. Hopefully these words have helped you understand how the mind can be affected, how people can lose sight of all the goodness around them, not only those of us who live with Mental Health illnesses. For those who fully understand how these demons can work I hope some of the things in here will help you fight this battle of the demons with new hope and tools.

There is no easy answer for how to keep these demons at bay, no one pill to take, no way to just shake it off and just carry on. However there are many many ways we can use what energy we do have to hopefully keep these demons from getting a firm grip.

Let’s shift our thinking now. Let’s look at ways to help keep our minds in a positive space when there is so much uncertainty in our world!

• Please be patient with yourself.
• Practice self kindness, self compassion.
• If you are prescribed medication, be consistent.
• If you are tired, rest. It’s okay to sleep if you can. 
• Fresh air, even with self isolation you can still open a window, open the door, step outside, go for a walk. It’s ok if you feel the world is too scary to go outside right now, take baby steps, start by opening the window or the door, maybe the next time you feel ok to actually step outside, maybe not, either way it’s up to you to determine what you can do. 
• Eat, your body needs nourishment to fuel all the demands we put on it.  Try and eat as healthy as you can. Think of food as a fuel and use it for that purpose, to give our bodies the energy we need to get through each day, to have the strength to fight these demons.
• Drink water! Yes water, our body needs it
• Practice self compassion
• Celebrate the little victories, opening the window may be a great victory for you! Celebrate that! Maybe you are able to take a small walk down the driveway, celebrate that!!! 
• Get out of bed, if this is something that you struggle with, CELEBRATE when you do!!! YES for real, celebrate every victory you have!!! 
• Limit your exposure to the news, social media.
• Use the internet to find something new to do!! With all the closures taking place all over the world many businesses are offering free virtual tours ect!!
• If you have no internet, look for a new show, dig out those books you have stored away.
• Breathe, yes breathe, but focus on the breath, visualize it entering your body, visualize where you feel the breath going, focus on what that breath is doing. It is giving your body one of the best gifts we can ever give it.
• Practice yoga, which is really just breathing with some movement thrown in for those who wish to get more physical with the yoga practice
• Check in on your buddies, call them, message them, facetime or skype or use whatever type of social connection you can use. This may be difficult to do, but chances are you will be glad you reached out, and they will be too!
• Write, start a journal, not sure what to write about? How about look out the window and write about what you see, write in detail and describe in detail a few things you can see. Look around your home and write about something you can see, something that makes you smile.
• Pick a happy place, something or somewhere that makes your heart smile, and think of this place each time you start to feel anxious or sad. Go into detail about what makes this place so special, visualize you being there, feel the air, smell the smells that bring you joy.

There are so many other things we can do to help us keep fighting this battle, the key is to keep trying new things, find things that work for you and when they stop working, try other things.

The point I really want to share is this:

YOU ARE AMAZING

YOU ARE LOVED

You may need to keep reminding yourself every minute, every hour, every day, that these demons are lying to you.

You have a purpose and you are loved, even when you can’t really see it.

As always, leave me some feedback, interact, what do you to keep you mind in check?

Thanks for sharing this journey with me! xoxo

Until next time my friends, be kind to yourself and look out for others! xoxo