Be Where Your Feet Are
By: Patricia McGuire, MA, LPC
Life looks different than it did a few weeks ago. Since Michigan’s governor sent out a “shelter in place” order to address COVID-19, we’ve adjusted and restructured our lives to accommodate this new but temporary normal. Words like “unprecedented” and “unknown” and “quarantine” are used on a daily basis in news briefings, articles, and social media to describe how we are navigating COVID-19.
I write this blogpost nestled in my home office. It’s a small nook I’ve carved out for myself during this time. I’ve brought some pillows and décor from my office to make the space feel familiar for both me and my clients as we meet for sessions via telehealth. These objects have helped create a small sense of continuity as I transition to working from home. Although I’m thankful for the capability to connect virtually, I look forward to meeting with clients in my office again.
If you’re working from home, it can be helpful to have a time of transition and physical marker for the end of your workday, something like closing the door on the space you use as an office, taking a walk outside, doing some stretches, or changing into different clothes. In my home, I don’t wear shoes. So, these days when I meet with my clients via telehealth, I’m wearing my socks, but no shoes. I find time every day to put on shoes and go outside.
I’ve heard it said to “be where your feet are.” Building awareness of yourself and the world around you is a helpful grounding exercise for anxiety and depression in these uncertain times. Connect with your senses and your felt experience—your body, thoughts, and emotions. Give yourself grace as you are faced with new challenges and unexpected changes.
Ways to Be Where Your Feet Are:
Create and keep a routine
Reach out to loved ones
Connect with nature—get outside
Check in with yourself daily (i.e. ask “how am I feeling?” or “what do I need?”)
Maybe for today you need to take your shoes off: walk around in the grass, on the sidewalk, or on the floors of your own home. Or maybe you can put on shoes to dance, go for a walk, or perhaps put on those running shoes that have been collecting dust. Or take off your shoes and roll out the yoga mat. Or maybe you have a particularly comfortable or fuzzy pair of socks you love to wear.
Regardless of what you do with your feet or what you put on your feet, take notice of what you’re doing. Be aware of what you’re feeling. However you choose to spend your day and whatever is required of you during this time, be gentle with yourself. Be where your feet are.
At MCGR we are here for you during this time. MCGR therapists are currently accepting new clients to get started via telehealth. Please contact contact@mindfulcounselinggr.com or 616.425.2412 to set up an appointment today.