Fear and its good mate stress weakens the immune system.
It’s a well researched truth that, when we are tied up in knots with worry, it hurts the body’s ability to fight infection.
Here we are in the middle of a pandemic, the world turned upside down. It’s stressful. So how can we diffuse the fear so that our body is in good form to fight this virus if necessary?
Joy is fear’s nemesis, and joy is known to boost the immune system. We’re not for a moment suggesting that joy is the COVID-19 vaccine, but it will undo the harmful effects of fear on our health and wellbeing.
We are so conscious of the far-reaching impacts of the coronavirus on the global community. Friends are cancelling long-anticipated overseas holidays and battening down the hatches. Businesses are suffering. Everything feels somewhat shaky.
In the midst of this, we encourage you to take some time to find and relish simple joys. Allow the weight of those fears to fall from your shoulders, even if it’s just for a few moments. Try some of these:
- Sit in the sun. Close your eyes and simply allow the warmth to penetrate your skin for a few minutes.
- Go for a walk in nature. Listen to the birds, the rustle of leaves in the trees, the crunch of your footfall, the synchronicity of the natural environment.
- Ditch screens for an hour/evening/day. It’s important to stay informed of course, but the media coverage can become overwhelming. Distance yourself from it to recharge.
- Breathe. Concentrate on deep breathing. Close your eyes and breath in, and out. Do so with a posture of thankfulness, that there is air moving in and out of your lungs.
- Connect with people. We’re designed for community, so it makes sense that some of our most joy-filled experiences will be with people. We may be restricted from some community gatherings, but that just means we need to think outside the box. Facetime, Zoom, Skype etc. can help if face-to-face catch ups are out of the question.
- Get creative. Do something tactile. Bake bread or cook gnocchi, do a painting or drawing, write down how you’re feeling (in a poem if you like!), pick flowers, rearrange your furniture.
Think of this time as an opportunity. What is it offering you?
And if you’ll forgive us the shameless plug… We know that many are cancelling holidays interstate and overseas. Why not holiday at home and support local tourism operators? We will be forever grateful. And we guarantee that there is plenty of joy to be had at The Dales in the humming little township of Derby.