The pandemic and its aftermath have brought about new and intensified stressors for many people. Coping strategies that have worked in the past might not be as effective in the current situation. Self-assessment and self-care are essential in times like these. Here are some steps you can take to address these challenges:

1. Self-Assessment: Take time to reflect on your current state of well-being and baseline resilience. Ask yourself how you're feeling physically, emotionally, and mentally. Identify the specific stressors that are affecting you, both new and pre-existing ones that have intensified. Consider the following self-assessment to start:

Self-assess your baseline resilience:

Responding “yes” to any of the questions above indicates you are resilient. Your resilience ensures that you have the reserve of strength needed to self-assess and pre-plan self-care for coping with these new and intense stressors.

2. Identify Depleting Factors: Make a list of the things that drain your energy or contribute to your stress. These can include work-related pressures, health concerns, social isolation, financial worries, or anything else that's weighing you down.

Self-assess the impact of a stressor by identifying:

• What is this feeling?
• How intense is the feeling?
• How long does the feeling last?
• How frequently does the feeling repeat?

Consider a “feeling continuum” and mark what you feel based on words or number that aptly describes the intensity:

3. Refuel Strategies: Explore different strategies for self-care and resilience-building. This might involve seeking support from friends, family, or a therapist, adopting healthier lifestyle habits, finding relaxation techniques, or engaging in creative or physical activities that bring you joy.

4. Set Boundaries: Establish clear boundaries to protect your time and energy. Learn to say no when necessary, delegate tasks, and create a schedule that includes time for self-care activities.

5. Connect with Others: Human connection is essential for well-being. Reach out to friends and loved ones, even if it's through virtual means. Sharing your experiences and feelings can help alleviate the sense of isolation.

6. Practice Mindfulness: Mindfulness and meditation can help you stay grounded and reduce anxiety. These practices can be useful in managing stress and helping you make more deliberate, less reactive decisions. Consider “S*T*O*P”:

S: Stop and take stock. What is my experience right now? Thoughts? Feelings? Physical sensations?

T: Take a breath. Use breathing technique –

1. Close your eyes
2. Deep breath up to a count of 4

• Hold for a count of 2

1. Breath out up to a count of 8
2. REPEAT as needed

O: Observe your experience.

Examine thoughts, feelings and emotions. Remind yourself that these thoughts are not facts, they are not permanent.

Examine physical sensations - tensions, body pains, slumped in chair, rigid shoulders, clenched jaw, shallow breath.

Look around you again with fresh eyes. Observe without expectations of outcomes and with openness and curiosity to what might come next.

P: Proceed with something that further supports you. Walk around, drink a beverage, look outside the window, pet your dog (or pet of choice).

7. Seek Professional Help: If you find that your stress and depletion are overwhelming and affecting your daily life, don't hesitate to reach out to a mental health professional. They can provide guidance and support tailored to your needs.

8. Manage Expectations: It's important to be realistic about what you can achieve and the level of perfection you can attain, especially during challenging times. Be gentle with yourself and don't set unrealistic standards.

9. Plan for the Holidays: The holiday season can bring its own set of stressors. Plan ahead and consider how you can celebrate in ways that align with your current well-being goals. It's okay to scale back or change traditions to reduce pressure.

10. Prioritize Self-Care: Make self-care a priority. This means setting aside time for activities that bring you joy, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Whether it's reading, listening to music, taking a bath, or going for a walk, these moments of self-care are essential for maintaining resilience.

Build a self-care plan by asking yourself the following questions:

1. What physical activities help me? For e.g. Exercising, Walking, Sitting on the grass?
2. What psychological activities help me? For e.g. Journaling?
3. What emotional activities help me? For e.g. laughter, crying, screaming, silence?
4. What spiritual activities help me? For e.g. Prayer, Chanting, Faith-based practices?
5. What relationships help me? For e.g. Specific family member, friend, spouse/partner or pet?
6. What work activities help me? For e.g. completing a task ahead of deadline; tackling pending email, taking on a new project or challenge?
7. What combination of the above help me?
8. What doesn’t help me?

Remember to pick your self-care activity because, “it worked for me in the past.” By pre-planning to extend, repeat or supplement the activity you can better cope with and minimize the impact of those new, different or exacerbated stressors.

Finally, pre-plan for coping with the most intense feelings (8 through 11)  by:

• Extending the duration of pre-planned self-care technique,
• Repeating self-care technique through the day, and
• Supplementing self-care with reflective practices – for e.g. journaling or short note-taking

Remember that everyone's experience is unique, and it's important to find what works best for you. Depletion is probably now a fact of our life. It’s time to refuel by acknowledging your depletion and taking the proactive steps of:

1. Self-assessing resilience and successful self-care.
2. Measuring impact of new stressors.
3. Pre-planning self-care for coping with depletion, and,
4. Remembering that you are already resilient!