10 Ways to Battle Quarantine Blues

1. Clean your house

This should be step #1 if you are worried about a contagion. You want to make your house feel like a place of safe, calm, and zen... Right? Especially if you have to be quarantined in your house for potentially 30 days, you might as well create a space that makes you feel good.

Take the time to sweep, mop, dust, and to do the nitty-gritty cleaning that we usually never have time to do; because guess what - we have all the time to do it now.

2. Call your mom

This is probably my first reaction to every crisis, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to reach out to your family, friends, and support systems during this time.

Social distancing doesn't mean we need to cut all ties with friends and family. We can, in fact, sometimes strengthen our relationships more than we could have imagined, with something as simple as a phone call or email.

"Hey, how is everything with you?" is more than enough to break the ice and start a good conversation.

Whether you have a mother in your life or not, we all have people that we turn to in dire situations. People whose advice we listen to, and who we can always call to cheer us up and make us feel normal.

Reach out to those people, spread your love, and feel comforted by knowing that you have someone in your corner, even if you can't physically see them.

3. Revisit your hobbies

This can is where the word, thrive, comes into the equation.

What are hobbies you started, but never had time to follow through with? This is the time to dust off those old paint brushes, pull out those knitting needles, tune up the old guitar you've always wanted to learn, or even set up that video game that you've been dying to try.

Picking up new skills like these are one of those 'simple things' that will make us feel "normal," during a time where everything else feels haywire. Plus, spending time on hobbies will help us to feel more 'productive' than just binging on Netflix will.

Put on some music, tune in to your favorite show and get lost in those hobbies you truly love and that make you feel like yourself again.

4. Read

In a time where schools, universities, and nearly all forms of class are cancelled, feeding your mind is going to be crucial to staying sharp.

Whether you restart and old book series you love, start an autobiography, or even dive into a fiction novel, it's been proven that reading can help improve memory, visualization, and even our empathy skills.

So crack open a book and lose yourself for a while.

5. Donate what you can

With so many people out of work, falling behind on bills, and struggling during this lockdown. Donating what you don't need could make all the difference to someone who down has much less than you.

If you are reading this, I'm assuming you have access to the internet, an iPhone, an Android, or an even a tablet or laptop (which makes you one of the lucky ones). According to the New York Times, there are over half a million homeless people in the US alone who are at a much greater risk of contracting COVID-19 than those of us who are more fortunate.

Give back and pay it forward by supporting local homeless shelters, food banks, or even consider giving blood to the Red Cross who need transfusions now more than ever before.

It'll make you feel good and could potentially save someone's life.

We're all in this together, even if we have to socially distance.

6. Write

Do you journal? For me, I've been incessantly journaling for almost 6 years now, so this comes naturally to me. If you don't, however, it might be worth giving it a try.

According to various medical studies, journaling can be beneficial for mental health, stress and anxiety management, habit tracking, goal setting, and even prioritizing your fears, problems and worries.

If you haven't cultivated journaling as a habit, now might be a good time to give it a go.

Open a notebook, write the date on the top, and just write.

7. Exercise

The internet is full of information pertaining to the health benefits that come from exercising, so I'm not going to lecture you.

The health benefits are, however, plentiful, and now is the perfect time to do everything that we can to boost our pysches and our immune systems.

Roll out that yoga matt, turn on your favorite Youtube exercise videos, or even just do some push ups and jumping jacks for 25-30 minutes a day.

Anything and anything you do to stay active is a great start.

8. Cook for yourself and learn to love it

With the quarantine in full effect, going to restaurants and bars isn't exactly an option anymore. Now is the time to get familiar with your kitchen and it's implements. Time to become the Julia Child you've always known you could be.

By cooking inside you can: eat healthier, save money, prevent the spread of illnesses, and also feel like the total kitchen badass that you are.

Plus, learning these skills will help build confidence in your autonomy and probably help you reach your own personal goals along the way.

Don't be afraid to get a little down and dirty in the kitchen. We all have to learn how to cook sometime.

9. Create positive routines

Trust me, I know how easy it is to wake up and immediately start scrolling through your newsfeed for hours. Don't fall into this trap.

Wake up, drink water, brush your teeth, clean the house, write in your journal, do some yoga, drink coffee, eat your balanced breakfast that you cooked for yourself, etc...

These simple routines, according to the Huffington post, will set the tone for not only the morning, but the entire day. They will ultimately help to make you more successful, productive, and feel more centered throughout your day and week.

In a world where very little feels 'normal,' these morning and evening routines will be the glue that can help hold you together.

It only takes 21 days to solidify a habit.

10. Be your own best friend.

Right now, social distancing is the new social, so it is imperative that we take this time to get to know ourselves, support ourselves, and to learn to love all that we are and have been.

According to Forbes Magazine, the millennial generation is the loneliest generation yet. Even though, in reality, we are never alone; instead, we are constantly bombarding ourselves with socialization. Real or virtual.

Hopefully these 10 steps will help you to tackle quarantine blues and allow you to cross the bridge from FOMO (fear of missing out), to HOMO (happy on my own). Heehee.

Take this time to learn to love alone time. Relish the opportunity to relax and readjust to this new reality.

Take care of yourself, and be safe.

Good luck.