Stress is a normal part of life; however, the anxiety caused by Coronavirus may be a new level of stress, many of us have never dealt with before. We’re having to navigate life in a way in a completely new way; working from home, schooling from home, and isolating ourselves from one another. All while not knowing what a day, a month, or a year might bring.
Some of us are slowly figuring out the “new normal”, while others seem to be having a harder time figuring out how to adjust. Thankfully, there are some simple strategies you can use at home to relieve stress and help get you through these tough times.
Here are some easy ways you and your family can combat stress & anxiety caused by COVID-19.
Exercise
Exercise increases your body’s production of endorphins (those feel-good hormones that can improve your mood). Any kind of physical movement will work. Take a short walk, do some chores around the house, or pop on a workout video.
If you are looking for fun exercises for your kids to try, we have a guide here that is full of YouTube channels that will get your child up and moving!
Consume Healthy Foods
It’s no secret that eating well is hard to do when you’re stressed. When we get stressed, our bodies produce the hormone cortisol, which can cause us to crave fats and sugars. Try keeping a variety of fruits, veggies, and nuts at the ready in the event of a snack attack. The more nutritious the food, the more energy your body will receive and the better you will feel.
Take a Bath
Stress can cause tense muscles. A hot bath loosens muscles while also providing a relaxing atmosphere. Light a candle and pour some bubble bath and relax.
If baths aren’t your thing, consider deep stretching or a massage (ask someone you live with to help you with this one).
Stretch Your Funny Bone
Laughter is the best medicine. According to the Mayo Clinic, laughing can stimulate your organs, activate your stress relief response, and soothe tension. There is also evidence that laughter can improve your immune system, relieve pain, increase personal satisfaction, and improve your mood. So, what are you waiting for? Tell some cheesy jokes, watch a funny movie, have a family game night, or read a fun book.
Put it Down on Paper
Journaling your thoughts is cathartic. Let the juices flow, write whatever you are thinking, no need to worry about grammar or technical errors. When you’re done, you may choose to keep your writing to revisit later or toss it.
Many parents have also encouraged their children to keep daily journals during this time, so they can easily look back when they are older and remember how their day-to-day lives completely changed. When you read over their journal entries you can also get a better sense of how your child is coping.
Try Meditation
Create a sense of calm for your body and mind through meditation. There are many forms of mediation, like visualization, deep breathing, and even guided meditation. You can find a variety of free meditation apps, websites, and videos by just simply Googling, “Free Meditation”.
Get Your Beauty Rest
Loss of sleep causes stress on your body. Sleeping recharges your body and your brain. Stick to a consistent bedtime routine that helps you to wind down before slipping under the covers. No devices or caffeine before bed.
While it is important to rest, it is also just as important to not over-rest. To function at your best level, try and get 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
Stay Connected
Even in the midst of a global pandemic requiring many cities and states to enact stay-at-home orders, we can still connect with family and friends through technology. Using virtual meeting platforms and video chat apps, we can spend valuable face time with loved ones and friends thanks to technology like WhatsApp, Skype, Houseparty, Google Hangouts Meet, Zoom, FaceTime.
Talking on the phone and sending/receiving letters can also fulfill this need for human interaction.
Find a Hobby
Distract yourself with an enjoyable activity. Maybe you pick up a new hobby, or you rediscover a love for a hobby you once adored like, sewing, playing an instrument, jewelry making, painting, DIY projects, baking, making TikTok videos, reading, gardening, working out, or even adopting a shelter pet and training it.
Either way, keeping your mind occupied with something you love can keep the stress at bay. You might even consider sharing your hobby with a friend or loved one.
Seek Professional Help
If you’ve tried coping with stress on your own, but are still having trouble kicking stress to the curb, it might be time to seek the help of a professional.
Mental health professionals can help you determine what triggers your stress. They can also assist you in developing a plan for coping by providing you with tools to fit your needs.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Nurses, doctors, and health care professionals are our frontline heroes in the fight against coronavirus. With almost 4 times as many nurses as physicians in the U.S. (3.8 million vs 1.1 million, respectively), nurses are the largest segment of providers seeing, treating, comforting and providing ongoing care for the patients that are and will continue coming into hospitals and clinics.
Nurses know they will be hit hard, yet they are stepping up heroically in the face of incredibly long hours, heartbreaking care cases and increased personal risk. So, it’s time for the rest of us to step up and support them by doing our part to keep our healthcare workforce strong, healthy and resilient, we can help turn the tide on the crisis.
Here’s how you can help nurses in your community.
Stay Home
Across the country, various forms of shelter-in-place and social distancing orders have gone into effect. The basic idea is that by limiting exposure to others, we can significantly limit the spread of coronavirus infections. That will help us “flatten the curve” and prevent our hospitals from getting swamped beyond capacity. What you do matters. Stay updated on your city’s instructions by visiting its website, TV channel or social media channels.
Donate Supplies
Many facilities are in need of gloves, goggles, N95 masks, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, gowns, and other PPE. Look through your closets and garage and see if you’ve got extras (new and unused) you can donate. Check your local news pages, public health agencies or health care provider’s social media pages for specific needs and drop off instructions. Some are even asking crafters to sew masks!
Follow the Care Protocol
If you feel you might be sick, contact your doctor or advice nurse about your symptoms, then follow their instructions. Given the pressure on the health system, they are working hard to provide high-quality, personalized care to their insureds via telehealth, while also ensuring that high-risk and vulnerable patients have access to emergency and hospital services. And if you haven’t done so already, cancel or postpone any elective or routine care appointments.
Be a Good Neighbor
Many of us know nurses and health care workers personally. Whether they’re in your family, friend circle or neighborhood, make a point to reach out (virtually) and check-in. See if there’s anything you can do for them or their families. This could be something like picking up groceries, walking their dog or picking up their takeout. They are and will continue to be overwhelmed—physically, mentally and emotionally. Let them know you’re there for them.
As nurses and other healthcare professionals treat more and more patients, their risk of infection increases. That’s a real danger—both to their own personal health and to the number of providers that will be available to take care of patients in the months ahead.
Never in our modern lives have our personal choices made such an impact on the health of our greater community, that is why it is so important that you help do what you can today.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com
As much of the U.S. adjusts to social distancing and shelter in place guidelines, our first responders and healthcare workers continue to fight on the frontlines of COVID-19. Every day these heroes are showing up to serve their communities- while knowingly putting themselves at risk of exposure.
Extraordinary Times
Our frontline heroes are used to risk—it comes with the job—but these are extraordinary times. In many areas, their facilities are short on personal protective equipment (PPE); and a number of them have made the choice to self-isolate while working in order to protect their families.
And yet, every day they continue to help those in need, no matter how many people arrive to the ER, dial the advice line or call in distress. In hard-hit cities like New York and Detroit, police officers are working double shifts in their communities to cover colleagues who’ve gotten sick or have had to self-quarantine. First responders and volunteer departments are working hard to improve systems and protocols to stay ahead of the anticipated increase in calls. Nurses and other healthcare workers are coming out of retirement to help meet the increasing patient needs in hospitals.
Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
On top of it all, some are even finding ways to connect with their community, bringing comfort, joy, and positivity to an anxious public:
Firefighters in Massachusetts, Missouri, Indiana and elsewhere are recording themselves reading stories and posting them online for parents to share with their kids.
Alabama firefighters are making sure kids’ birthdays aren’t forgotten. They’re driving their firetruck to lucky children’s homes and turning on the sirens and lights to celebrate.
As a way to spread positivity, an ICU nurse started a Facebook group dedicated to sharing found or handmade rainbows.
Police officers across the country are reaching out to their youngest community members online by hosting art projects, reading them stories and even giving singing lessons.
We rely on our frontline heroes every day—to keep us safe, to protect us, to care for us when we’re sick. There’s no better way to thank them for their service and sacrifice than to do our part in helping keep them safe and healthy.
By following local guidelines around social distancing (or shelter in place, depending on your location) you can help “flatten the curve”—which means reducing the spread of infections and, by extension, the pressure on healthcare workers and first responders.
Take time to send a (socially distant) thank you to the nurses, peace officers, firefighters, and other emergency personnel.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Amid a federal issuance of social distancing guidelines and orders across many cities for residents to “shelter in place,” people are having to quickly adjust to our new (thankfully temporary) normal. No more gatherings, picnics, playdates or dinners out for the time being.
Yet, while our physical connection is severely curtailed, communities are finding creative ways to remain virtually connected.
Not surprisingly, people are taking advantage of the internet (90% of adults in the U.S. use the web) and a multitude of apps and platforms to connect with their family, friends, and neighbors—even if they’re right next door. Here’s how communities are connecting while social distancing.
Feeling Chatty
Facetime, Skype, and WhatsApp video are among the go-to’s for video-enabled mobile chatting. For larger gatherings, web-based Google Hangouts, Zoom and others fit the bill. All these allow users to connect virtually, even if they live in different states or countries. For families with members who must self-isolate for safety, web and mobile chats allow close family time without the risk of exposure.
Finding Each Other on Facebook
Like online chatting, Facebook is connecting families and friends now more than ever. But it also offers people the ability to reach much larger audiences and communities.
In Holbrook, Massachusetts, firefighters are using the platform to record videos of themselves reading bedtime stories and share them for parents to play for their children. Libraries are taking storytime and education online, and zoos and aquariums are bringing their animals to people’s living rooms via live streams on Facebook Live and YouTube channels.
Facebook Groups are another way that people are creating tailored communities around a specific cause, topic or interest. On the safety front, many news organizations and local authorities are using the platform to keep their communities informed and up to date on COVID-19.
Checking in Near and Far
For those who are separated from friends or family in another country, WhatsApp is a free messaging app that can help them stay in touch across oceans or continents. On the other end of the spectrum is Nextdoor, a hyperlocal platform that helps neighbors post and share information relevant to their neighborhood.
Dance Parties & PSAs
Who says people have to be in the same room to dance together? Tiktok, a new platform for creating short dance, comedy and lip-sync videos, has seen an explosion of friendly dance challenges in a time of social distancing. Families, co-workers and friends alike are using the app to break out their moves. In Louisville, Kentucky, a father and his two grown sons held a dance competition on the platform—it went viral and got almost 10 million views.
Halfway across the world, in Vietnam, TikTok users helped spread a government PSA about handwashing to many millions by turning the catchy tune into a global dance challenge. It’s gotten more than 20 million views, proving that creativity and community can help spread the word on steps we all must take to protect ourselves and each other.
By taking advantage of remote tools and technology—and adding some fun and creativity—we can stay connected to family, friends and our community while adhering to social distancing guidelines that will help flatten the curve and keep everyone safer.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Our world has changed seemingly overnight. As we deal with the immediate crisis—and learn behaviors that ensure the safety and well-being of ourselves and others—we all have an opportunity to make our world a kinder and more generous one.
Here are 8 ways to be a good neighbor during trying times.
Stay safe, stay home
Across the country, various forms of shelter-in-place and social distancing orders have gone into effect. Stay up to date on your city’s instructions and follow the orders and advice of local officials. By slowing and limiting the spread of infection, we can “flatten the curve”—protecting vulnerable community members and preventing local hospitals and emergency services from overwhelm.
Check-in
For the elderly, immunocompromised or otherwise vulnerable, these are especially scary times. Reach out to those neighbors and friends (on the phone, email, through a closed door) and see if there’s anything you can do for them. A grocery run, food pickup or dog walk could make a huge difference. Let them know you’re there for them. If you yourself are in the vulnerable cohort, make it easy for others to know how they can help—there are plenty who want to help but don’t know how.
Donate blood
In the midst of coronavirus anxiety, blood drives have been canceled and donations have dropped. However, maintaining our nation’s blood supply is still critical: Every 2 seconds, a patient needs a blood transfusion. If you’re healthy, consider giving blood. Donation centers are skilled in infection control practices and adhere to strict safety procedures.
Do a virtual food drive
You can deliver needed groceries to families and community members right from your computer. Check the websites of your local food banks, city or city health departments or non-profits that focus on food insecurity. You can sign up as an individual or as a group. For the latter, get creative and launch a drive with friends, family, colleagues or neighbors.
Volunteer
Check with local non-profits, charities or your city for volunteer needs. Many neighborhoods are also forming their own emergency response teams. Volunteers can sign up for a range of activities or projects. If you have the gift of health and security, volunteering is one of the most rewarding ways to pay it forward.
Shop local
Local businesses are hurting, and some may not recover. Patronage right now is more crucial than ever. Place orders online; buy gift cards; keep up your membership. Many restaurants are staying afloat by offering take-out and delivery—if you can afford it, mix up your in-home creations with local cuisine. And if you can be generous in tipping your delivery drivers, you’ll be helping them through a rough time.
Donate
Public health crises spotlight the gaps in our communities and this crisis is no different. Many hospitals are in need of gloves, goggles, N95 masks, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, gowns, and other PPE. Look through your closets and garage and see if you’ve got extras (new and unused) you can donate to local hospitals. Also check in with your favorite charities, causes or non-profits and see how you can help.
Spread kindness
These are stressful times, and a little kindness goes a long way. For those workers on the front lines (who themselves are at increased risk), receiving some patience, kindness, and compassion from customers will buoy their spirits. Be generous where you can. Remember too, that just as with the oxygen mask in the airplane, you can only take care of others after taking care of yourself. So, find ways to make self-care and mental health a priority.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
As taxpayers rush to get their tax documents in by the April 15th deadline, the IRS is once again warning thieves may be targeting them as ID theft victims. Hundreds of thousands of Americans find out every year that someone has used their Social Security Number to claim false refunds.
The Insurance Information Institue reported that about 3 million consumer complaints of ID theft and fraud happen each year during tax season.
Here are some tips to have lower your risk of tax identity theft and make sure you stay protected.
Don’t give out your personal information
Identity thieves may try and get you to disclose your personal information over the phone, by text, social media, or by email. The IRS will not reach out to you for this information via electronic media unless you contact them first.
If you receive a scam email forward it to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov
File your returns as early as possible
Once you have all of your documents, go file. If you hesitate an identity thief with access to your information could have extra time to tile a fraudulent tax return on your behalf.
Use a trusted tax preparer
Non-certified tax preparers may bump their rates based on your refund by giving you deductions you aren’t entitled to and leaving you at fault if the IRS chooses to audit you. Scammers can also pose as tax preparers to steal your personal information and your refund. Do your homework and make sure you are going to a certified professional.
Anyone who prepares tax returns for compensation is required to have a tax preparer identification number or PTIN. You can look up any licensed tax preparer on the IRS’s Directory of Federal Tax Return Prepares.
Keep an eye on your accounts
As a rule of thumb, you should actively monitor your credit on websites that won’t hurt your score, like Credit Karma. You can also monitor your tax documents online on the IRS website.
If you see something uncommon on your reports or have reason to believe your personal information has been compromised you can place a credit freeze or fraud alert on your account.
You can place a credit freeze or fraud alert on your file by contacting Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion.
California Casualty wants to make sure that all customers receive identity theft resolution services at no charge and to make the process as simple as possible. That’s why our customers offers free ID theft resolution services with every policy through CyberScout.
CyberScout assigns a personal fraud specialist who works with our customers until the fraud problem is resolved. That means you have unlimited one-on-one access to a dedicated fraud specialist who will assist you in understanding credit reports, gathering evidence against the fraudsters, working to limit damages, and following up to make sure the problem has been cleared up.
With insurance from California Casualty, if you or a loved one’s personal information is compromised, you can rest assured that a CyberScout fraud specialist will get in the trenches to help speed the recovery process – as long as it takes to restore your good credit.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
