Fall Back into Health: The Three Areas to Focus Your Efforts - Grace, Kindness, and Little Bit of Alcohol

By Erika Fehrenbach Prell

It’s that time again, DreamChasers. The start of the school year is fast approaching. While this year might be a bit, ahem, up in the air with virtual, in person, or a combination of these, there is one thing you can count on...cold and flu season! This is an inevitable part of fall, DreamChasers. You can be afraid or prepared; the choice is yours. SoulShine Life Connections Inspiration Catalyst and resident nurse practitioner, Erika, has your back with some guidance on where to focus your efforts to keep yourself, and your troops, as healthy as possible this fall.


Let’s address the elephant in the room. I mentioned cold and flu season but not covid. Since I loathe the word unprecedented (I mean, isn’t anything new technically unprecedented? Moving on.), I will use crazy. This is a crazy time, DreamChaser. Here’s the truth that all the experts don’t want to really admit to...no one really knows what is going on with covid. No one knows the best way to treat this virus. No one knows the best way to prevent this virus. No one knows if or what the long term effects are of this virus. The answer is simple; this virus is too new to know any of these answers for sure. Medicine, and science in general, is based on educated best guesses as well as trial and error.

I apologize if that freaked you out a little but someone has to be brave enough to say it. That’s exactly why the experts aren’t saying that “they don’t know for sure” and are, instead, changing the recommendations every other moment, resulting in confusion on who or what to believe. Take a deep breath and read this next part. While no one knows for sure the exact details of this particular virus, medicine and science has had very good success in dealing with other viruses and illnesses. All illnesses start out as an unknown, right? The past medical and scientific breakthroughs are the lessons on the process to uncover this one. It just takes time and patience while the process unfolds.

While I may not have the answers to cure the culprit of this pandemic, I have three areas for you to focus your efforts to optimize your health this fall...grace, kindness, and a little bit of alcohol. You read that right; it is not a typo...a little bit of alcohol is key so read on!

Give Grace...to yourself and others
What do I mean by this? To me, giving grace is combining the idea of giving someone the benefit of the doubt with empathy. Leading with this idea of giving grace helps release tension and negativity. It helps put things into perspective. There are things you can control, and things you cannot control, during this time. Giving grace is a conscious decision to bring in the positivity and possibility of this situation and release the negativity and limitations. Give the things you can’t control away and focus on what you can.

Make the decisions that feel right to you while realizing someone else might come to a different decision because that is what is right for them. And, it is okay to change your mind! This is not a time for self-guilt or a time to pass judgment. You are doing the best you can in this moment as is everyone else.

Throw Kindness Around Like Confetti
Take a moment and think back to when you have seen large amounts of confetti thrown in the air. For me, the Super Bowl comes to mind. It’s a colorful explosion that rains down on all; if it happens to be outside, the wind grabs ahold of it and spreads out that colorful, joyful celebration even farther. That, DreamChasers, is what we should be doing with kindness; throw it into the wind like confetti to rain down on all it can touch. Don’t be stingy; throw liberally. 

While kindness to others is important, do not forget to shower yourself with a hefty dose of self-kindness as well. At SoulShine, we define self-kindness as taking care of yourself in all areas of wellness, your mind, body and self. There are many ways to show self-kindness including eating well, exercising, reading a book, playing a game, meditating, or journaling.
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In times of stress and uncertainty, like now, kindness to self and others is needed more than ever. It’s a way to boost morale, decrease stress, and foster connection. Keep in mind that you need to care for yourself first before you can care for anyone else; that good old “put your oxygen on first” idea, DreamChasers. Go throw out that kindness confetti!

A Little Bit of Alcohol 
This is the one you were waiting for! While an adult beverage might be in order, this is a judgement free zone, that isn’t exactly what I was getting at. I actually meant hand sanitizer. Before you say, lame! Trickery! Here me out. While the exact guidelines for Covid are still being sorted out, there are a number of actions you can take to keep yourself and others as healthy as possible during cold and flu season. There is a good chance some of these may help decrease the spread of covid, too....bonus, baby! Here they are: 

Tips for Cold and Flu Season Health:

1. Wash your hands! (You can’t do this enough, seriously. Wash for 20 seconds with a good lather.)
   
2. Use a paper towel or your foot to open public restroom doors. (Otherwise, you just wasted that good lather)
   
3. Use hand sanitizer like it’s going out of style. (Be liberal with the alcohol, and share with others!)
   
4. Capture sneezes and coughs in your elbow or a tissue. (Then, sanitize or wash your hands for good measure.)
   
5. Try not to touch your face. 
   
6. Smile and laugh as much as you can. (It boosts your immune system.)
   
7. Take time to decrease stress. (Stress has many negative effects on your health, including decreasing your immune response.)
   
8. Stay home if you are not feeling well. (The best way to stop the spread of germs and limit how sick you get is to take care of yourself.)
   
9. Consider getting the influenza vaccine and making sure your other vaccinations are current. (This is all I am saying on this topic. Your personal views on vaccination are respected, which is why the word “consider” was purposefully selected.)
   

DreamChaser, listen up. You will get through this. This is a season in your life, and all seasons pass. There are blessings to be found in times of stressing, finding these blessings will make you stronger and more resilient. Give yourself grace and pass that along to others. Kindness is confetti and needs to be spread. These are things in your circle of control. And, never, forget the alcohol!

Shine on!