Dr. Connie Omari
Hey, hey, this is Dr. O, thank you for tuning into the show today. All right, let’s talk about 12 ideas for happiness during quarantine. I know this is important because if you’re like me, you are about tired of sitting in this house, not having an opportunity to do the things that you would normally do and really getting used to a new way of life. But these are tweaked big 12 quick things.
And I think if you begin implementing them, you might find ways to find happiness, no matter what’s going on in your surroundings. Because a big part of what we do, and what we believe in, and your mental health is really the ability to find happiness, and authentic joy, irrespective of your circumstances. So let’s get right to it.
The first thing I want to offer for you to do is to thank someone for something that you do, no matter how big or no matter how small, especially these essential workers, these essential workers, as you know, come in the form of your health care providers. But they’re also the people that you’re running into at the store, the people who are bringing delivering your groceries or bringing your groceries to the car, the people who are out here, weathering the storm to make sure that society is still functioning, okay, you want to make sure that you let someone know that you appreciate their sacrifice, and that it’s making you in return. have a better life. Okay, ask for help.
All right, that’s the next thing you want to do. Listen, I know that as black women, as white people in general, it is very, very hard pressed to get ourselves out there and ask for something I remember one time when a very important part of my life has been the opportunity to go to Africa. And you had a great opportunity, by the way is how I met my husband, but I didn’t have the financial resources to be able to do it. And I asked some of the uncles that I had in my family who were a little bit well off, and they helped me and emit absolutely everything, to me to be able to have that support. One of the challenges was though, that for a while, I got mocked because of it. Some of the other, you know, family members teased me because I didn’t have the resources to do it on my own. And I knew that facing that was going to be a possibility. And lo and behold, it did happen. But I guess what I’m trying to say is, as you can see me taking that one trip has essentially changed my life. And it’s made me so much better, and so much more versatile and so much more effective and what I do, so yes, I did have to swallow some of my pride and get humiliated in the process. But the bigger picture was that I got this great opportunity to do something fantastic. I got my wonderful family and I have you as listeners to join me on this journey. So it was worth it for me. So yes, ask for help if you need to.
Next exercise. Now I know a lot of people go to the gyms and a lot of it. I don’t know my gym is still closed, but even when it opens, I don’t know if I’m gonna go to it because it has a lot going on. Okay. So you can still do things outside or do things that don’t require going to a gym. I have one client who has a virtual trainer. I think that’s awesome. I’m going amazing if it’s in your means. I actually I live in Raleigh, North Carolina, my show sharing, and we have the most amazing trails. So I to go out in the morning time, and just walk these different trails, and get good exercise. And also I’m able to work on my mental health in the process. And some of my clients, believe it or not even do walk and talk therapies with me, wherever they will actually be on their end, and I’ll be on my end, and we’ll be talking, as we’re doing therapy, as we’re going through these trails. So exercise, whatever it means for you, it doesn’t necessarily have to take place in the gym, you can even do a YouTube video, my daughter gets on YouTube, bless her heart, and does kids yoga all the time. So you can exercise without having to go into the gym and risk your health.
Right meditating. Meditating is very important. All right, there’s apps that you can use to help facilitate this, there are scripts that you can get even from our website, black MFT, matters.com, you can Google scripts, go to YouTube to get meditative music or meditative scripts. But there are opportunities and resources for you to meditate, that will also help you to experience happiness. Now, this is one that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, but it’s important giving, if you don’t have right now you can give I have been given my behind off to the Black Lives Matters movement, especially as it relates to getting the protesters out of jail, you know, I didn’t have the ability to go out there and protest because I’m behind the camera all the time. But getting out there. And giving was a great way it made me feel involved.
And empowered, it certainly made me feel happy because I was supporting a cause that was important for me. So find a cause, get out there and support it and giving any way you can sometimes it’s money. Some people, it’s physics, some people went to jail, you know, for the Black Lives Matter movement. But the most important thing is get out there, get involved and give what you do have hiking. Now I’m not gonna lie, this is not my thing. But I hear a lot of great things about it. Okay, so again, in North Carolina, we have some mountains, kind of on the west side of the state. And I know a lot of my clients go to that area to kind of get some retreat and get on their hiking trails. But if that is your thing, and if you’re open to it, but like I said, even if you don’t hike per se, just going on a trail walk will be very helpful as well. I do like nature, I just don’t like there’s like snakes and things like that.
So hiking, walking on a trail, it’s up to you. But the point is you can get out you can do it. And this is something that you might be doing. But I want to make sure you’re doing it the best way, get better sleep, not just sleep, get better sleep. So you know, that happens when you make sure that your setting is conducive to sleep. I don’t know how people go to sleep with like the lights on or, you know, the TV on or things like that. But these things can be distractions more or less, especially if you have sleep problems. So you want to make sure that you’re soothing your senses. So one of the I say the lights, but I use a diffuser and it does have like a little light in it.
Also, I use the TV, on a YouTube if I’m having a hard time sleeping, but you can go to like this meditation stations, you can just Google something like you know meditating music or sleeping music, especially if I’m sleeping with my son or allow my son to sleep with me, I might put something like that one. And you know, make sure it just has like a dim light to it. That is not very bright, aroma therapies. That’s what I put in my diffuser, very, very good for relaxing you, maybe sometimes making sure you’re taking a good bath the night before. But get into a sleep routine, a sleep hygiene pattern that’s predictable, and that you can rely on on a consistent basis to help you have your best sleep. Another one is smile. Gosh, you have no idea how many muscles you actually exercise in your face when you smile. And you feel better when you do it. So I’m actually smiling now like it’s easier because when you’re on a podcast, it’s kind of hard to talk to yourself. But if you smile in the process, it makes you feel like you’re having a conversation.
Obviously, it’s about things that I’m passionate about, that I enjoy. So these things will really help you if you don’t have a podcast which you just need to exercise the skill to the mirror and smile. Just smile when you’re by yourself. You don’t necessarily need permission to smile, but you can still reap the same benefits that you would be having if you had a nice, good healthy laughter or conversation with someone. Okay, socialize with a good company. What is there a friend or family member that you just haven’t been able to reach out to in a while and you know, they might be kind of down themselves. Reach out to them, let them know you’re thinking about Have them let you miss them that you care about them. Okay.
And connect write a letter. Yes. I mean like with a pen and paper, you know, write a thank you letter or a regular note. People don’t do that anymore. But it means so much to the people to receive. I love receiving just a good handwritten note my daughter, she’s learning how to write if he just writes me notes all the time, and it warms my heart. My husband writes me letters, believe it or not, he probably wouldn’t want me telling the whole world that but it makes me feel very special when he takes the time to do that. Great notes. Okay. Nutrition. Listen, you got to work on your diet. Okay. Everybody is talking about this quarantine. Wait, y’all, it’s not gonna be cute. It is not going to be cute. Now we promote and healthy at Every Size. But if you’re eating at a stress, or boredom, or just not really haven’t anything else going in for you in life, so you just focus in on food right now. It’s not cute.
And I’m calling you out because I’m calling myself out too. So let’s work on that. Let’s make sure that we’re eating well balanced diets and getting the exercise and we already discussed that we need to take a care of ourselves because believe it I know we don’t see it now. But quarantine will add social distancing will end there will be a cure for Coronavirus, and I don’t want to be stuck.
I don’t want you to be stuck. All right. So let’s take good care of ourselves. All right.
And last, but certainly not least aim for some goals. What is it that you’ve been sitting on? Now I understand this is not for everyone. But for those of us who have wanted to start a business? Why not? Now, for those of us who have wanted to write a book, why not? But those of us who need to relax, okay, you catch up on some rest it take a break, why not now? All right. Whatever your goal is in life trying to achieve it. This is the time. All right. Thank you again for inviting me on your journey. This is Dr. O. Have a wonderful, wonderful rest of your day. Peace of blessings. Dr. O.
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