None of us are okay. It's time to get creative. — I was on a Zoom call recently (which is how all stories start now, right?) where energy was low, and cameras were off (which is how all Zoom calls are now, right?). The topic of the call was pandemic stress and how folks are managing it. The facilitator switched slides…

How push alerts can lead to ‘headline stress disorder’ and what to do about it. — The average smartphone user in the United States receives 46 app push notifications per day. Forty-six interruptions as we go about the business of being human. Working, caring, connecting, moving, resting. These micro-moments take our attention, our intention, and in many cases, our ability to think rationally and replace them…

Burnout, the Freeze Response, and How to Cope — As I write this, we are more than thirteen months into pandemic life. Even as more and more people are getting vaccinated, and society is showing signs of opening back up, many of us feel more exhausted and more depleted now than we have from the start. The term ‘burnout’…

Managing COVID-19 Trauma Anniversary Reactions I spent the first few days of March 2020 in Manhattan at a grant meeting. I came across photos from that trip last night and was jolted by seeing packed streets and full faces — so many noses and mouths. My throat started to close…

The stress is real. Here are some ways to manage it. — For months now, organizations, groups and movements across the country have worked to encourage every eligible American to create and implement a voting plan amid COVID-19 complications. Text messages, mailers pile up on digital and physical surfaces: are you registered? Will you vote by mail? In person? Early? On Election…

Decision Fatigue is real. And it’s making everything harder. I am a chronically indecisive person. As a teenager in a middle-class community, I watched friends open college acceptance letters and immediately declare where they’d be attending. Me? My parents had to lock me in the house on the day of…

Part 4: Stop Scrolling What day is it? Seriously. Without looking at a calendar, or the lock screen on a phone, do you know, with 100% certainty, what day it is? A few friends and I have been doing a weekly “vibe check” (staying connected!): a text-based exchange to check-in about how we’re feeling…

Part 3: Stay Connected I am 7.5 months into the wild ride that is pandemic pregnancy. At my most recent OB appointment, my doc sent me home with a loaned blood pressure cuff and a fetal Doppler machine. Out of COVID-19 precaution, my next several appointments will be held over the phone; I will…

Part 2: Get Regulated Raise your hand if the term ‘self-care’ makes your skin crawl. I know. Me too. I don’t have time for it. I am not a person for whom the images conjured by the term ‘self-care’ are comforting. I’m not getting hot stone massages. I’m not doing yoga on the beach…