Counselor Jackie Johnson has a conversation with a high school senior. They talk about how her school year was disrupted by COVID-19 and ways to cope.

In the past month that we’ve been in quarantine, I’ve woken up a handful of times to the smell of my husband baking bread. “It feels good to have fresh bread that I made myself,” he says. I’ve also found myself reaching for comforting favorite recipes, like my mom’s spaghetti and meatballs or blondies from my favorite cookbook. Also apparently I’m the type of person who ferments her own pickles? We’ll see how that experiment turns out.

Hi, My name is Jackie and we all know that being a parent is one of the hardest jobs in the world. These days it’s harder because not only do you have to be a parent, but you’re a teacher now, and you’re a person that plans activities for your kids.

More than ever we are being encouraged to maintain our physical health through healthy habits and regular hand washing. Keeping our immune system high is of utmost importance. Mental Health Awareness Month is a good time to point out we also need to keep up with our emotional hygiene.

During a very stressful period in my life I would periodically get a bruise at the center of my chest and I had no idea where it came from. One day I caught myself repeatedly tapping my fingers to my chest while having an argument with my partner—this nervous habit was giving me the bruise. When you’re feeling anxious or dysregulated the body will naturally want to self-soothe. This could show up as fidgeting, constantly looking away, touching your hair...any sensory input that can bring yourself back to the present.

If you haven’t been counting the days, the outbreak started 45 days ago and self-isolation could last through 2022. I know some of us have been holding our breath waiting for this to be over so we can go back to our old lives, but as of now social distancing is the new normal.

We are living in unprecedented times so there is no textbook right answer for how to live through a global pandemic. Everyone’s situation is different. Maybe you’re homeschooling while working from home and have never been busier or you’ve recently been furloughed and are suddenly quarantined alone with your thoughts.

In a matter of weeks our lives became so different from what they used to be.  If someone told us that our jobs would be on the line, that we couldn’t go out to eat and that we’d have to stay home and isolate, we’d probably say that they must be talking about a movie.

Whether you’ve endured a recent loss of someone very close or you were a witness to the death of a friend or a public figure, the undeniable truth of grief’s pain is likely knocking at your heart’s door.