Staying active while staying at home
While many Bella Vistans are self-quarantining to reduce the risk of covid-19 spreading, it’s important to stay physically and mentally active.
Bella Vista resident Jonathan Dugger, who is a licensed psychologist in multiple states, said that a major issue people in isolation face is feeling like they’ve lost control.
Common symptoms to look out for are associated with anxiety and depression, he said, and include disturbances in sleep — either too much sleep or being unable to sleep — or intrusive, negative thoughts, often referred to as catastrophizing — believing a worst case scenario is all but certain.
Changes in diet, significant changes in body weight, thoughts of suicide or helplessness are other signs to keep an eye out for, he said.
“Those would all be indications that there’s been a shift in a not-so-great direction,” Dugger said.
Dugger said residents should be aware of and ready to use services available to help. Many free web-based mental health support programs exist and can be found with a quick search, he said, and the American Red Cross typically has links to potentially helpful services.
Anyone feeling suicidal should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, he said.
A paid service can be found at betterhelp.com, he said.
To help prevent mental health issues, Dugger suggested reframing some of these issues.
“Instead of going to that place of ‘I’m stuck at home,’ …change the context to ‘I’m blessed that I can stay at home,’” he said.
Many people could benefit from more time at home, he said, but being told it’s necessary and doing it with so much uncertainty in the air can be stressful.
People can take advantage of the additional time at home because there are a variety of services available — museums are offering virtual tours and parks have virtual hikes, people can work on learning new things or reading books, he said.
Structure is also very important, he said. Little things like making one’s bed, eating at regular times and getting dressed can help, he said.
That structure can help people feel like they’re in control and alleviate some of the stress of quarantine, he said.
It’s also important to get outside, even if it’s just out in the backyard to do some chores, he said.
A good diet and physical activity are also important for mental well-being, he said.
“Go walk around the neighborhood or walk around the parks on some of our lovely trails,” he said.
Lindsey Hardin, co-owner and director of Ozark Integrative Medicine on McNelly Road, said that the facility is currently offering video call sessions to provide clients with services and maintain social distancing.
“He can customize them if someone’s having anxiety and stress, digestive issues,” she said.
The facility can be reached by phone at 479903-5022.
Hardin said that an acupuncturist and Tai Chi instructor with the clinic was doing classes at Branchwood and Metfield twice per week, but with POA facilities closed these classes are axed.
These video sessions teach a combination of meditation and Tai Chi exercises, Hardin said, and the clinic also offers dietary coaching and answers a lot of questions, particularly about herbs and supplements.
A lot of misinformation or incomplete information is floating around about different herbal supplements, but these supplements can have dangerous interactions with other medications, she said.
“There are definitely companies out there that are trying to sell miracle cures,” Hardin said.
Researching alone can be extremely difficult, she said, but the clinic is offering video calls to help people make safe, informed decisions.
Cindee Johnson, a movement specialist and director of sales and marketing at Concordia, said that the first thing people need to do to stay safe is follow social distancing guidelines.
But at the same time, it’s important to get out to get sunshine and fresh air, she said.
Walking is excellent exercise that uses a lot of muscles, while exposure to sunshine is essential for the body to synthesize vitamin D, which helps keep the immune system strong, she said.
It’s important to go out alone or in a very small group, she said.
Stretches and bodyweight exercises can also be used to stay active at home.
As people spend more time at home they risk becoming excessively sedentary, which has a risk of weight gain, depression, low immunity, low energy and general fatigue.
Someone may feel too tired to move, but counterintuitively, getting up and moving around can help them re-energize, she said.
Staying in a good headspace is important as well, she said.
“When you take care of a lot of what’s in your heart and mind, that will help your body as well. It’s all about what we focus on,” Johnson said.
Lucy Quarti also teaches exercise classes for the POA, which is now offering online courses on its website, bellavistapoa.com, as well as its Facebook page.
Quarti said she’s currently recording video sessions — eight per week — for these online courses, which are available free of charge.
“I am pretty swamped,” she said.
Anyone who’s interested can check out the website, which has several videos from the past three weeks, she said.
For these videos, Quarti said she’s making sure to do exercises that don’t require equipment so nobody is left out.
A yoga mat or a towel could be helpful, she said, and some exercises can be done from a chair.
Anyone who wants to get started is more than welcome to start slow. Someone can pick an exercise and aim to do 15 minutes or so to get started.
“It doesn’t need to be complicated,” she said. “You just need to get started and do it. And keep doing it, that’s the key.”
The important thing is to get up and get moving, she said.
People in different age groups may need different priorities, Quarti added.
Working with seniors, a lot of the focus is on balance, which deteriorates with age. Simple exercises like balancing on one foot, doing heel lifts or squats — with a chair in place to help prevent falls — can help build balance that can help prevent dangerous falls later, she said.
Stretching is also important because tendons get shorter with age, she said. Arm and shoulder stretches, hamstring stretches and lunges can all help, she said.
With more fit senior groups, she said, cardio is a big focus. One simple exercise is walking while doing hand exercises.
With younger groups, Quarti said she does a lot of squats, sit-ups, pushups and other more intense exercises.
Quarti added anyone who needs to adapt an exercise to ensure they can do it properly absolutely should.
Good exercise can clear the mind and ease stress, she said.
“I’m isolated too, and I find that if I start moving around and I get up and start doing something… within 10 minutes I feel so much better and I can handle the rest of the day. So inactivity is going to be a big deal for these people,” Quarti said.