Inner Peace: Finding It During a Health Pandemic

1 year. 12 months. 365 days.

We recently passed the 1-year mark since quarantine began. 1 YEAR. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge ourselves for surviving one year of quarantine during a health pandemic. WE DID IT!

For some, that has meant doing motherhood alone. For others, that has meant losing their job and simplifying their lives. For others, that has meant playing roles that they have never done before. For all of us, it has been hard. The saying, “It is hard because it is,” has really resonated with me this entire year, validating me in a way that has allowed me to give myself grace during these hard times as a mama of two. Your definition of hard may not be the same definition of hard to someone else. Don’t let that invalidate you and your feelings. Because HARD IS HARD. And motherhood during a health pandemic is HARD.

How do you find inner peace during a health pandemic?

When there is so much chaos in this world, with so much of that chaos being out of your control, how do you manage to find your inner peace? Think about that…

Inner Peace refers to a deliberate state of psychological or spiritual calm despite the potential presence of stressors. Finding inner peace is something that I began working on ever since I realized that I was being triggered very quickly by my children and husband. (But by who else though, right? Because we have been quarantining just us four for all of this time.)

I decided to write about finding inner peace in hopes that this article will help someone during these difficult times. 

For me, finding inner peace before, during, or after being triggered looks a lot like this:

• Tuning in to my emotions and welcoming that emotion, whether it’s anxiety, fear, anger, etc.
• Focusing on all of your senses; what can you see? What can you touch? What can you hear? What can you smell? etc.
• Taking deep breaths; adding aromatherapy into the air of our home
• Going outside for some fresh air, nature, and a change of scenery
• Moving my body- whether it’s a dance party in the living room, a walk around the neighborhood, or taking fellow MMC contributor Illiet Ojeda’s virtual fitness class
• Doing something creative- whether it’s painting, arts and crafts; it’s mostly about the creative process, right? Creating SOMETHING. Feeling ALIVE. Being in CONTROL. COMPLETING a task and feeling ACCOMPLISHED.
• Eating clean and drinking water
• Psychotherapy or making a phone call to someone who calms you
• Donating and/or shifting your perspective that there are worse things happening in our world right now
• Singing and/or listening to music
• Meditating
• Journaling
• Praying

What are the reasons that cause you to be triggered? 

So let’s talk about that- I mentioned the word trigger and for some, the word trigger in and of itself may be triggering. It’s not something that we should be ashamed of. These are stressful times and stress causes us to be triggered quicker than how we would respond during unstressful times. Dr. Eric Djossa created a list of reasons that may cause you to be triggered:

• In need of a break
• Sleep deprivation
• Whining/crying or fussiness
• Undone tasks
• Changes in plan
• Feeling stuck/not being able to do what you want
• Hunger
• Clutter/mess
• Defiance/not listening
• When kids won’t nap or sleep
• Noise/over-stimulation

We are all human, we are all under a lot of stress, and we are allowed to get triggered. I believe that the most important part is what happens AFTER being triggered with your loved ones- the repair, the reconnection, the refocus.

Whatever it is that helps YOU find your inner peace, DO MORE OF THAT!

Personally, singing is what helps me find inner peace most. They say that when you sing, you are praying twice. And well, I have found myself praying a lot and singing a lot during these unprecedented times. Are you familiar with the melody of “Kyrie Eleison?” This is the melody that I gravitate to when I really, REALLY need to find my inner peace. It translates to “Lord, have mercy.” He is giving me the strength to find my inner peace. He is giving me mercy. I am giving myself mercy.

Let’s all give each other mercy during this difficult time and stabilize our inner peace.