Balancing Calm and Stress

This morning I’m not even thinking about how we are balancing working from home (Mr Bookworm) with managing two kids at home all the time. Though we are lucky that they have distance learning from their school which has maintained a schedule and sanity at our house.

What I’m thinking about is this: How do you balance the calm with the anxiety? The need to know current news with the need not to bombard your kids with every detail of what’s going on?

Or, for me, an outpatient physician going from hoping for the best to imagining  every worse case scenario happening at all the local hospitals. I read that ER doctor’s tweet about his actual work day. I know our colleagues in NY are running out of PPE. And I have found so much inspiration in those people volunteering to make masks to help out. It’s a wartime effort.

But we’re behind the eight ball.

How am I managing the stress? I have nights in which I’m not sleeping much. Mornings in which I’m up early. A husband who listens patiently to my fears. Yesterday, I had a virtual coffee/tea time with friends. And I did PE with my middle schooler, did yoga, plus went on a walk as a family.

Later I’ll go to the office.  Hopefully help out to alleviate who may be going to the ER if we were to shut down. I’m reaching out via phone and messages to my personal patient families. (If you haven’t received a call yet, I’m still working on it.)

We’re slower at the office, understandably.

And it’s slow at home for many people right now, some wishing for work, trying to figure out how to make ends meet. Others bored with the restrictions of quarantine.  It’s a balance.

In the ERs and the hospitals right now, it’s anything but slow or quiet. And my heart goes out to all of them on the front lines. I hope they manage some down time in the midst of chaos. I hope they’re forgiving of themselves when they make mistakes, when they lash out, when they need to take a moment.

I hope they get the equipment they need to properly take care of patients and themselves.

And I hope that you continue to do your part by lessening the spread of the virus. Stay at home, stay safe for those who have no choice right now but to go straight to heart of the battlefield.