If you do one thing during a crisis… give.

This is part of my “one thing” series.  Other posts in this series can be found here.

If there’s one thing to do during this shelter-in-place lockdown thing, it’s to give.

Give of yourself. Give your time, talents, and skills.

I am reminded of a time in my life when I became quite depressed as a result of my life being turned upside-down. I felt helpless and didn’t know what to do to regain that sense of control.

A friend who knew I loved birds suggested I check out this organization here in Chicago that rescues migratory birds who have been injured by striking glass buildings.  Sure, why not. And as I learned the ropes with the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, it gave me a sense of purpose.  Even if I was just helping one bird to safely be on its way south (or north, depending on the time of year), then I had made a difference.

My life starting revolving around the Saturdays that I monitored for injured birds.  It created some structure and meaning when those things were lacking in my life.

Giving Gives One a Sense of Purpose.

Seeing each bird I held in my hand up-close and personal left me with a sense of awe – the brightly colored and detailed feathers, the differences in the bill and beak size and shape, how light the tiny warblers were, how heavy the raptors and owls were.  How incredible it was that these tiny creatures traveled thousands of miles every year, twice a year, to breed and raise their young and then flee the incoming ice and snow.

Volunteering helped me see something other than my own anxiety and worry. It helped me see there was a world past the end of my nose, that life was bigger than my thoughts. It got me out of my head.

Helping these birds brought me immense happiness.  It gave me an incredible sense of purpose.

And it made me realize that one thing that could give life meaning for anyone would be:  to bring that happiness to others.

Giving has a tremendous effect on our OWN well-being.

When we get outside of ourselves and find meaning and purpose in something bigger than ourselves – something magical happens.

There was a study done on this subject which came to the conclusion that stressful events were much more damaging to those who were less helpful to others.  Other studies have shown that it could promote healthy aging – and even improve financial stability!

Giving back and helping others can activate the part of the brain where sex and food are the usual “feel good” stimulants. Helping others and giving back can also lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) when actively volunteering; this is sometimes called the “helper’s high”.  And all of us with autoimmune issues and chronic disease know that stress plays a huge role in how we heal and our overall health.

That the simple act of giving can be so beneficial to our own health – no wonder my depression was lifted when I was helping all of those birds.

It’s a relief to get out of your own head and focus on someone else.

During this Pandemic, Many of Us Feel Helpless.

This coronavirus has many of us feeling out of control and helpless.  One way to regain a sense of control?  Provide a service to your community.  Give of yourself.

So now, how to give?  There’s the usual ways:  Work in a soup kitchen (while wearing PPE of course), donate blood.  Give money to a charity if you have the means to do so.

But let’s think outside of the box here – we’re living in a new normal, and giving at this time is anything BUT normal.  With that in mind, here’s a few ideas to get you thinking about how you want to give of yourself, your time, your talents and skills.

What resonates with you?  What gets you excited and thinking about the possibilities?

When you think about “the one thing that could give life meaning for anyone would be to bring happiness to others”, what does that look like for you…?

Give: Easy.

Stay home.

Strike up conversations: Ask others how they are doing, *really* doing, especially our front-line workers like cashiers, transit workers -even the AT&T customer service representative on the other end of the line (I loved speaking with you, Kim from Mississippi!).

Listen to them. This is a whole ‘nuther post, so I’ll stop there. Just listen, without bringing your story into it, without offering advice or trying to solve another’s problem. Just listen.

Level up.

Wear a mask when you are out. Remember, masks don’t necessarily keep us 100% virus-free, but they can keep *our* germs from getting out and infecting others.  The ultimate gift: The gift of health.

Shop local.  Support small businesses if you can. Order food from local restaurants.

Write a thank-you letter to someone who has helped you in the past. A real, honest-to-goodness snail mail letter.  Remember those?

Or, write a letter to someone in our military or a first-responder.

Checking in.

Check in on elderly/high-risk neighbors or those who are homebound.

Check in on those who may suffer from depression or anxiety.

See if there’s anyone from your place of worship, work, gym, etc who may need extra support during this time.

See if any of those people mentioned above need anything.  Groceries, picking up prescriptions, take-out.  If you know of a couple who has kids, see if they need help running errands. Schedule weekly phone calls or video chats.

Find out how to help the elderly in your area.

Give: Art.

Write letters or draw pictures and send them to nursing homes (where visitors aren’t allowed at this time, sadly).

Create thank-you cards to our front-line workers.  Not just the health-care workers, but the transit workers and cashiers at your grocery store.

Paint rocks and leave them on your neighbor’s doorsteps.

Create a “Poetry Tree” and encourage neighbors to write and leave poetry.  Supply markers, plastic bags (for rainy days) and clothspins.

Leave a big box of chalk on the sidewalk and ask passers-by to leave encouraging words.

Paint or draw and hang your art in windows for your neighbors to see.

If you are an artist, share your talents online by teaching or mentoring.

Give: Support the Arts.

Many performing artists (and other creative artists) are out of work.  Think about how many songs you’ve listened to, how many movies you’ve watched in the past couple of months.  That is art, and that is what is keeping us going during these hard times.

Of course, many of the big stars we hear over our speakers or watch on Netflix probably aren’t hurting financially.  I’m thinking of the little guys here.  The local symphony and smaller opera, dance, and theater companies.

Donate unused tickets back to performing arts concerts that were canceled – and consider donating more if you are able.  The arts, in particular, are suffering right now – and the future is pretty grim for many arts organizations.  Give what you can to local organizations to ensure they have a future.

Give back locally if you can. Support the little stages and community theaters.

Book virtual lessons.

Donate directly to that artist’s Venmo/PayPal/etc.

Find live streams of performances on Twitch, Instagram, and Facebook and donate to those artists.

Google is your friend to find local ways to support the entertainers in your community, seek out GoFundMe campaigns.

List of Some Artist Relief Funds by City (also a list of other things you can do to support the arts)

Artist’s Relief Project

Writers Emergency Fund

Give: Money.

If you have the means to donate money, great!  But even here, there’s more than one way to spread the love:

Keep paying for services even though you aren’t using them (nannies, hairstylists, landscapers, masseuses, manicurists, etc).

Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Response Fund

Center for Disease Philanthropy – COVID-19 Response Fund

Center for Disease Control Foundation

World Health Organization – COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund

Give: Your Time.

Become a mentor online to a child or student.

Train to become a crisis counselor.

Wildlife centers and pet shelters still need help. Or, adopt or foster a pet in need.

Become politically active.  Connect with your local government and see how you can help.

Find a place to volunteer – even remotely.

Volunteer Matching – find something that fits who you are.

Become a Crisis Counselor.

Become a mentor.

ASPCA – find a pet shelter near you.

Find elected officials in your area.

Give: Blood.

If you are healthy and able, donate some blood.

American Red Cross

My offer to you.

In light of all that’s been going on in this world, I would like to offer you, dear reader, some coaching.

I will listen deeply, offer empathy, and help you make sense of what’s going on in the world right now. It does not have to be about nutrition or autoimmune issues. We can talk about anything that’s on your mind.

We can talk about anything that’s on your mind:

• creating new habits in this “new normal” – or maintaining current habits
• work challenges – either working from home or being out of work
• figuring out how to best spend your time with your now at-home children (and still retain your sanity)
• how to cope if you have too much free time, or if you are finding it hard to strike a work-time vs. free-time balance in light of recent changes
• how best to manage stress
• guilty feelings about not having to go work or the gym or maybe cheating on your diet
• feeling ok doing absolutely nothing for a while
• helping you create structure in your life and a plan moving forward – whatever that may mean to you
• help you regain control if you are feeling out of control
• if you are a health care worker, I can offer empathy and support for what you are facing right now.

To book your Complimentary “Meet & Greet” Session and Assessment, click here.

Be well, everyone, and I look forward to meeting you.

Sandy

Sandy Swanson is a Certified Functional Health Coach who received her training from Chris Kresser’s ADAPT Health Coach training course (A-CFHC) and is also a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).  You can learn more about her here and more about what coaching is here.