A Note From Montgomery County's Village Coordinator
Dear everyone, It has been over 50 days since we have shut down our
restaurants, schools, libraries and community centers and begun
self isolating at home. As many of you already know, social isolation
adversely affects people's emotional, physical and cognitive health,
and I would like to dedicate this newsletter to remind people of simple
ways to cope with this isolation and build resilience. To be a resilient person means to be able to withstand and
adapt to hardships, including trauma. In some cases, it can mean
finding a path that leads to a stronger position. Now is the time for
us to consider ways we can support the resilience of our neighbors and
our communities. You will find a combination of suggested strategies and
online resources which you can share with your community. If you are
not yet a part of a village, most of this information still applies! I hope this newsletter is a conversation starter and that
we will grow our shared knowledge of best practices on a personal and
community level. I wish you all good health and resilience, Pazit Aviv
Healthy Mind in
a Healthy Body
The ancient Greek and Romans had it right. Keeping a
healthy body goes a very long way to keeping your well being. 1. Structure a daily
routine and stick to it. That includes keeping a
normal sleep cycle. 2. Eat
well. If you have food access questions, please call
240-777-1231 (Aging and Disability Resources) 3. Exercise:
There are many free online classes now. But the weather is better so
get out of the house when you see less people are around and take a
walk. 4. Avoid alcohol
and other substances.
The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the last
famous Stoic philosopher of antiquity. During the last 14 years of his
life he faced one of the worst plagues in European history. In the middle of this plague, Marcus wrote a book, known
as The Meditations, which records the moral and psychological advice he
gave himself at this time. He frequently applies Stoic philosophy to
the challenges of coping with pain, illness, anxiety and loss. It’s no
stretch of the imagination to view The Meditations as a manual for
developing precisely the mental resilience skills required to cope with
a pandemic. The Serenity Prayer captures
the spirit of stoicism. but if wish to read more about how stoicism can
help build resilience, the link below will send you to a Guardian
article written by a behavioral therapist.
People involved with the village movement already know the
powerful impact of weaving social connections. Now is the time to find
more ways to engage your village members, friends, family and neighbors
to make sure they are not "cocooning" too much. 1. Continue
to offer meetings online and offer technical help
to those who are not familiar with it. If you need help with getting
people online, ask your tech savvy volunteers to help. There are groups
in the County who can help as well so please let me know. Dedicate some of your meetings to an open discussions of
how people are coping and create a written summary you can share with
those who were unable to attend. 2. Establish
check in buddy systems: Some villages have already
established a storm buddy system. This can greatly enhance your ability
to know if people are not doing well so that you can offer additional
support. 3. Establish
phone check in with people: Even if you do not
have many people who express an interest in the buddy system, make it a
point of calling to see how people are doing. Many villages
already do that and report people appreciate the call. If you do not have the option to do any of these, there
are nonprofit organizations who can help. Please contact me for more information.
Announcements
Virtual Rec Room
Montgomery County Recreation has launched a virtual Rec
Room. Find activities you can do from home for all members of the
family. Activities will be added on a regular basis, so be sure to
visit often. Visit www.mocorec.com/recroom
