Wow.. that escalated quickly! Just weeks ago, life was full steam ahead, business as usual. Today we’re waking-up days into a new, short term reality. 

Whether you’re 24-seven at home alone, or tied to your closest friends and family, these are times of unprecedented change. 

This situation is packed with emotion and reaction. We worry for our loved ones, yet if you share your home with them, never before have you spent so much time at their side, and so little by yourself. 

So how do you make the most of your world, when your boundaries are the four walls around you? In this latest journal post, we put our heads together to share where we’re at…

Take care of yourself and others

First things first. The best way to take care of everyone at the moment is to #StayAtHome. This will slow the spread of this Coronavirus, and help our healthcare system to care for us. 

Hygiene is cool

Being clean has never been so in! Washing hands with soap or liquid cleansers that contain surfactants can break down the lipid structure that forms the outer shell of a virus. When a virus loses its lipid structure, it loses the ability to infect people, so wash, wash, wash! 

Excessive washing can strip our skin of it’s natural oils. So if all that washing is taking its toll, be sure to lather up with your favourite hand cream, body lotion or multi-purpose balm to soothe before bed. 

Look after your mental wellbeing

Quarantine may be physical, but it also presents a psychological challenge too.

WhatsApp, instagram and streaming offer escapism. Connecting us to the outside world, for better or for worse. But even memes can wear thin.

Create a routine.

We need to sleep and eat, but we may overdo it while confined to our homes. Mapping out different activities for different parts of the day help keep our minds active and healthy. This includes making time to rest, work, or play with your children. Embracing a new routine is also a great way to take back control, and reduce anxiety. Timings might be a little out of sync with what you’re used to, but getting out of bed, showering and changing out of your pyjamas is a good start. 

Stay connected.

We’re fortunate to live in a connected world. Interrupting your day with a procession of internet jabber will offer a distraction. It won’t do much for your productivity or your sanity. Instead, carve out time in your new day plan to stay in touch with your loved ones, especially the most vulnerable or isolated, and put in a call.

Silver linings

We are determined to do all in our hands to make this pass. And pass it will, with a sense of unity and solidarity. Never before have societies around the world been so distanced, yet so connected by a common cause. 

And that common cause is good news. For the first time in a long time we have… time. 

Time to reflect on ourselves, our choices and what we take for granted: our lifestyles. Not only our way of living, but also the consequences of the choices we make.

When we take a moment to stop, stop moving, working, travelling, hustling and bustling, we give the natural world a chance to breathe too.

Breathe

Our air has rarely been clearer. If you live in a city the sound of nothing is new. Birds, breeze and rustling leaves punctuate moments of silence.

In developed and developing economies alike, reduced air traffic and road travel have brought a significant drop of air pollutants, including Nitrous Oxide. Data captured by European Space Agency satellites paints a clear 'before and after’ of our world in quarantine. For the first time in living memory, the canals in Venice are running clean too. And from our apartment in Madrid, silence pours in through open windows, where traffic once thrived.

While we all hope this situation is temporary, the numbers are proof of what has been said and repeated: when we change our habits for the better, we give our planet a chance to recover from human impact. 

Past- Present- Future

In a time when polarised opinions are growing, climate change is no longer a future thing but our present. If this pandemic gives our world a chance to breathe, and us a chance to pause and reflect, we will be able to find simple, lasting positives in this situation. 

Now is the time to act together, to show solidarity and empathy. Now is the time to grow and become the kind of people our planet needs us to be. If we do that, we can find positivity in these testing times.

Stay happy, safe and well.

From the team at Skin Sapiens.

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