Kansas State University

Tuesday Health & Wellness Tidbit - from your (Rural) Stress Transdisciplinary Team

Submitted by Rebecca McFarland

Adapting to Change and Maintaining Relationships

Even though most of us are working from home, we are likely at different places in adapting to the change. Some are juggling working from home, home schooling their children, providing for the needs of other family members and keeping up with daily household tasks. Others are experiencing the change that comes with college-age children moving back home or being at home and working alone.

Adapting to change can be challenging, but here are some tips to help you and your family adapt during this time:

• In times of crisis and difficulty, our basic needs for food, safety, love, and connection with others become much more important. Focus on relationship goals and interactions that serve to support basic physical and emotional well-being.
  
  
• Connect with yourself and others daily. Find a few quiet minutes every day to check in with yourself. How are you doing, physically, mentally, and emotionally?
  
  
• Be flexible, but realize that if you have children at home, it’s best to try to maintain their schedule of activities and routines. Bedtimes and bedtime rituals, napping, snacks and other routines that are as close to normal as possible provide security for children.
  
  
• Offer grace, patience and forgiveness to yourself, family members, co-workers, etc. We're all experiencing heightened levels of uncertainty and anxiety right now.
  
  
• Have FUN! Do things together as a family. Make time to do things at home that have made you and your family feel better in other stressful situations, such as reading, watching movies, listening to music, playing games, exercising, or engaging in religious activities (prayer, participating in services on the Internet).
  
  
• Accept the hardship and work together as a family to meet the challenges. Recognize that tears can be good medicine for many people.

It’s essential to understand you’re not alone. The feelings you are experiencing—fear, anxiety, anger, frustration, or something else entirely—are all normal and okay. However, it’s crucial not to let your emotions dictate how you treat, or how you react to others. This is a time for pulling together and drawing on the unique strengths of your relationships.