Taking Care of Yourself, Things to Do, and How to Help Each Other

from @mayedoodles and @myeasytherapy on instagram

updated: March 26, 10:38 am- recently added links are ITALICIZED

So with my blog I’ve always wanted to contribute original content and positive content. I never want to contribute to the noise and just be one more voice in the echo chamber.

After scrolling through social media the last few days, I wanted to share some things I’ve come across to put off boredom and anxiety, while we are all practicing self-quarantine and social distancing. I usually share a lot of this on Instagram stories but putting here feels like it’ll be easier to find and come back to!

how to help those in need

• Minor league baseball players don’t get paid when they aren’t playing, they’re raising money for each other

• Donate to local food banks

• Ways to help feed kids who normally get their meals at school

• The North Texas Food Bank is accepting donations as well as setting up a program to pay volunteers

• Give/Make/Donate to getusppe.org

• Charities and non-profits that are helping during the outbreak around the world

• JOANN Fabrics is providing supplies and resources to help make face masks

• Baseballism is raising money to fund manufacturing/purchasing of N95 masks for getusppe.org

links for things to do at home

• Tone It Up- the workout app is free for the first 30 days (not sure if this is always offered of if it’s just because of everything going on, but the perfect time to try it out is now!)

• 12 Museums you can take a virtual tour of

• Watch Broadway Shows (not all are free)

• Watch full MLB (and other sports!) games on Youtube

• NFL Game Pass is free until May 31- access to past full regular and postseason game broadcasts

• Calm has a full page of different meditations, all free

• Most public libraries have ebooks available

• Monterey Bay Aquarium has live camera feeds of their animals!

• The Georgia Aquarium also has live feeds!

• The Dallas Zoo is doing #BringTheZooToYou with videos of zoologists teaching about all the animals

• Scribd has free books for 30 days, no subscription or credit card required

• The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is letting their Penguins visit other animals!

• Experience Dallas from Home, virtual tour of Dallas hot spots

• Virtual tour of the Smithsonian

• 450 free Ivy League courses

• Texas Activity Book

instagram accounts to follow

If you need happy/positive/uplifting content on your feed

• goodnews_movement

• good

• upworthy

  (those three have similar content but all worth following)

• mantramagazine

• morganharpernichols

• thedogist

for mental health and anxiety

• talkspace

• myeasytherapy

• calm

• crisis hotline for mental health ( text MHA to 741741, open 24/7 to talk to a counselor)

places to get news

• CDC and WHO are obviously great sources but can sometimes get overwhelming with updates

• smartHERnews: i just recently followed, and as someone who gets overwhelmed easily by news, this is a great account to follow because there is no 24 hours news cycle nonsense, Jenna’s reporting is very clear and succinct and you feel like you’re getting the important info you need for the day!

• lynzyandco: specifically for covid-19 updates, lynzy works in the emergency department as a physicians assistant and has been doing quick daily updates, as well as some fun blogger content as a distraction.

• taylorherzer: another PA-C in the emergency department. she has a lot of great information she’s sharing from only reputable sources and does a great job of explaining

Please feel free to share more info and ideas in the comments of this post and I’ll add it!