Experience positive coping with our Mental Health Scavenger Hunt!
Many of us have lost count of what day of this “stay at home order” this even is. Some of us are feeling isolated and alone, others are feeling overwhelmed by everyone being home and having to work through a pandemic. Many people are experiencing an increase in trauma symptoms, depression, and anxiety. And yet those people who live with a fairly high level of anxiety normally, basically feel like the world has kind of caught up to where their typical baseline is. For many people, the world feels like a very chaotic place with no end in sight. And we are in a holding pattern with a lot of unanswered questions.
We don’t know when the “stay at home order” will be released. Kids don’t know if they will go back to school once the “stay at home order” is lifted, if the school will be canceled, or if they will finish out the school year online. Many people who are not currently working don’t know when they will return to work and even if they will return to work. Some people don’t know how they are going to pay their bills and are currently having to call their creditors to make financial arrangements so they aren’t put in collections. And some people just keep saying they want things to go back to “normal”. I’m not sure that we can go back to whatever “normal” used to be. So I really think we all need to begin to prepare for a new level of normal, whatever that means.
I’m acutely aware that the world as a collective whole is growing in stress and because we are all staying at home, many are running short on patience and coping skills. The staff at The Mental Wellness Center suggested that I write a blog about doing a scavenger hunt. I have to admit this had me stumped for a little while and then it occurred to me that this is exactly what we all needed! Something beneficial, something fun, and something to distract us. Just so you know I’ve never actually participated in a scavenger hunt before so this may just be my version of a treasure hunt! The theme for this scavenger hunt will be mental health-focused, but the great thing is you can do this alone or with your children! You can do it if you live in a house or in an apartment!
Are you ready to begin? We hope that you have a good time and enjoy this, always remember you don’t have to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Be Still: Sit down with your feet flat on the floor and close your eyes. Put one hand over your heart and one hand on your belly. Slowly breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. See if you can exhale just a bit longer than you inhale. Not enough to be uncomfortable, just enough to notice it.
Movement: Stretch your body, do some yoga, dance to a song, physically shake off the stress and angst you have been carrying through these times we are enduring. Turn on some music and sing to it, even if you don’t dance. What’s the song you sang? If you are in the position to take a walk or do some sort of in-home exercise than, by all means, do that, but don’t push yourself, remember this is supposed to be gentle and fun!
Notice The Outside: Whether it’s through the window, standing in the yard, or sitting outside take a look around you. What do you see? How does the sun feel on your face? Look around at the flowers beginning to bloom and the grass beginning to grow? Count how many of your neighbors have already mowed their lawn, or cars in the parking lot, or even how many birds you hear.
Cook/Bake: Most of us have access to google from our fingertips. Find a new recipe and either cook or bake something completely new and different. Something from a recipe you have never used before. Perhaps this isn’t a perfect recipe, maybe you need to make some changes to it and personalize it. Get creative, have fun and enjoy the process. Even if it doesn’t turn out perfect it’s okay because it’s about the process, not the finished product. What did you decide to cook/bake?
Music Is Meaningful: Play your favorite song. Connect with someone important in your life, either on the phone or over a video app and play the song for them. Tell them why the song is so important. Ask them what song holds meaning in their life and why? What was your meaningful song?
Gratitude: Handwriting a list of three things you are grateful for every day substantially changes the quality of your life in only three weeks. Begin a habit of writing down things that you are grateful for. I realize that it can be super tough during these times, but it’s also more important now than ever. What is one thing you are grateful for right now?
So it’s a scavenger hunt! I’m sure you want to know where your prize is, right? Well, I had to get creative so here’s what I’m proposing. And I know it’s going to feel super risky, but I really hope this is going to end up being super fun! I want you to record yourself or your child reading the answers to the bolded questions.
You don’t have to give your name, you don’t have to say where you are from, all you have to do is simply read the answer to the question. And then upload your recording to us and we are going to mash them all together and put the recording on social media. We want to show that it’s possible to do some positive coping during COVID! We want to show that there’s still hope in the world. If you want to participate, upload the video to your google drive and share it to MentalHealthScavengerHunt@gmail.com Google drive. Watch our social media sites for the video, we are so excited to see how it turns out!