With the new updates on the closure of restaurants, bars, and public areas, many people are now beginning to realize the true impact of the coronavirus. For some of you who may be like me and have faced school closures or college online courses, this can cause a lot of panic and anxiety, especially if you're a senior college student like me who now will be unable to enjoy their last year or feel uncertain about graduation. I actually am student teaching currently, so the closure of schools has really caused a huge amount of uncertainty.
Now that most of us will be quarantined within our houses or social distancing due to the outbreak, most of you are probably wondering what you do to help with anxiety or boredom. However, there are plenty of things that you can do when you're stuck inside that will keep you occupied! Here are 10 things to do if you're stuck at home.
1. Catch Up On Reading
If you're like me and love reading but haven't had any time during the semester to read, then take this opportunity to catch up! There are tons of books to read at the moment, and even though a lot of libraries are closed, you can still get books shipped to you from booksellers online. Plus, if you have a Kindle or tablet, you can also get e-books!
2. Watch A Marathon Of Shows
There are tons of shows on Netflix and on live television that you can watch! There are also shows that you can watch on Disney+ or Hulu. Whatever it is, watching shows will help you with relaxing and taking your mind off of things.
3. Spend Time Exercising Indoor Or Outdoor
One thing that will really help with anxiety is spending time exercising at home. If you have a treadmill or exercise equipment at home, you should definitely use it. If you don't, then you can try jogging outside your home or find online workout videos that will help you with exercising at home.
4. Meditate
Taking so much as 10 minutes in the day to breathe or meditate will help you with combating anxiety. If you are religious, you can spend a few minutes in prayer. Or if you're not religious, try focusing on breathing and meditation. There are a lot of ways that you can focus on mediating in order to take the anxiety out of the day.
5. Have A Spa Day
Take a day to have an indoor spa to help you with relaxing if you're feeling anxious! Break out some candles, give yourself a mani-pedi, use a bath bomb, or try wearing a face mask. Whatever it is, creating an indoor spa will help you combat any anxiety you feel from this whole situation.
6. Get Work Done From Your Online Classes
If you're in college, high school, or have any online course work, make sure to spend time getting work done for your classes. If you are student teaching, then you probably have work within your program or work given to you from your coordinating teacher. Whatever work you have, it's good to focus on getting it done since it will give you something to focus on rather than what is going on currently with the outbreak.
7. Start Journaling, Writing, Playing An Instrument, Or Drawing
With the outbreak, there are a lot of emotions and anxiety within everyone. The best way to combat this is through journaling and writing down what you are feeling. If you aren't the best at writing but love drawing, then try drawing instead. Or you can buy an adult coloring book and try coloring. If you play an instrument, try taking this time to learn new songs to combat any stress you're feeling. This is a great way to just take a moment to decompress rather than letting your emotions bottle inside you.
8. Go To A Local Park Or Walk Around The Neighborhood
Currently, there are still a lot of local parks that are open. Try going to one to combat cabin fever from being stuck in your house, or try walking around your neighborhood. Just make sure that you are using caution by still maintaining an arms-length distance from others.
9. Play Some Board Games Or Puzzles
There are tons of board games and puzzles that you can choose from that will keep you busy! In my household, we have tons of board games that I've never tried learning how to play. If you have board games or puzzles, try taking them out to keep your mind off of things. If you're looking for a board game that fits with today, there's a board game called "Pandemic" that's fun to try out since it's challenging.
10. Have A Movie Night
One way to help with being stuck inside: you can have a movie night! If you're living with a roommate or family members, you can have a movie night with them! Pop some popcorn and make some snacks! And try picking a movie that doesn't have to do with an outbreak if you're trying to take your mind off everything that's happening in the real world.
11. Keep In Touch With Friends Or Family Members
Finally, as the news and media have suggested, it's important to keep in touch with friends or family members. This is a big one that I need to follow myself since it's easy to lose touch if you're in isolation. However, it's extremely important that you're keeping in contact since it can stave off depression. It's very easy to lose touch with everything that is going on, so take a moment to either text or facetime friends or family members during this time.,
Instead of letting the panic of what's going on right now take hold, you should try doing any one of these things to prevent anxiety or boredom from being quarantined. Things will eventually get better and hopefully will pass in the coming months. But for right now, try to stay healthy and continue to follow the measures needed to fight off the outbreak of the coronavirus.
