Because of the current pandemic circumstances gripping every area of our country from coast to coast, I decided not to send out my customary clinical articles this month.

Instead, I prefer to offer this: To all of you — my friends, colleagues, clients, acquaintances, newsletter followers — no matter how you know me or where you are, I wish to extend my heartfelt and best wishes for your health and safety during these challenging times. It is my sincere hope that you and your  loved ones remain healthy during this Covid-19 crisis.

No doubt, all of you are clear regarding the essential precautionary steps that we all should be following — such as distancing and appropriate hygiene measures. Below however, are a few other considerations you may want to take into account throughout the coming days, weeks and possibly months:

  1. Curate your incoming. Embracing and spreading a sense of calm is optimal in precarious circumstances such as these, but the truth is, calm doesn’t spread nearly as quickly as panic does, so we have to exert effort to create environments of calm. Be cognizant of your social media exposure and your news sites and consider limiting them to a certain number of minutes per day. I began doing this a few days ago and rather quickly realized I had missed nothing.
  2. Keep your support system front and center. Talk openly and candidly with your spouse, partner or good friend about what you’re thinking and feeling. Doing so will help you gain perspective and validate that what you’re experiencing is likely similar in many ways to what they are going through also.
  3. Don’t neglect your hobbies. As many of you may know, I’m from New Orleans and we’ve been hit very hard by this virus. Nevertheless, city officials are encouraging us residents to get outside on occasion, while remaining acutely aware of the importance of distancing appropriately. Our local City Park remains open to solitary passive recreation such as walking, biking, and running. Staying at home is paramount, but judicious use of our outside time can assist in not turning a burgeoning physical health crisis into a mental one as well.
  4. Listen to or watch something humorous. Pretty obvious right? Laughing, or even if you can only manage a chuckle right now helps mitigate stress and elevates mood for your next effort of any kind.
    Investments, 401K, IRA. If you own any of these and have taken a hit, remind yourself that these instruments are never fixed and stable. I tell myself every day that what has fallen can and will, over time, rise again.

Final point: I consider all of you to be a part of my personal — as well as professional community. So if you have a need to reach out to me for feedback, guidance or support for any reason during these trying circumstances, feel free to do so, and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can.

My sincere best wishes,

JOE