The “rock doc,” Dr. Adam Zwig—psychologist-musician, educator, and author – has prescribed his Top 10 ways that President Trump can thrive in quarantine:
Top 10 Ways to Thrive in Quarantine (and Other Types of Isolation)
- Attitude is key: Just trying to cope with the situation until you can get your normal life back will cause you to suffer. As the great folk singer, Joni Mitchell, sang, “Life is for learning.” Use this time as an opportunity for change and growth.
- If you’re in quarantine for Covid-19 your first focus should be on procesing your fears. Get accurate information and follow medical directives. Process (or get help processing) what comes up for you around the potential for complications or even dying.
- Don’t spend your entire quarantine period distracting yourself. Use it for self reflection and to review your life. Take stock of your innermost needs, feelings, goals, hopes, and dreams. Get honest with yourself.
- Where are you in your relationship(s)? Which of your deepest needs are being met and which aren’t? What forbidden thoughts and feelings are you not expressing? What are your fears? What are you pretending to not see about your relationship(s).
- Where are you in your work life? If tough times have befallen you, try to go beyond your worry and despair and connect with a part of yourself that will help you make it through—a supportive inner parental or other figure, an inner warrior, or just faith in knowing that change can always happen.
- Where are you in your inner life? How are you doing with your demons and inner critics? How can you improve your relationship to these problematic parts of yourself? Don’t just let them beat you up; talk back to them—process them!
- Where are you in your spirituality? You don’t have to be religious or even explicitly spiritual—just have awareness of the meaning of your life. Explore your relationship to your existence, life, death, etc.?
- Where are you in terms of giving to others? No matter how tough life gets it’s never only about you. Take stock of your giving to people and the world.
- To maintain and improve your mental and physical well being learn self help methods like mindfulness meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, working out if your healthy, eating a good diet, and cultivating a positive attitude. Actively resist despair. Believe in the power of transformation.
- Listen to my new song, Medicine Gun (out October 16), which describes how tough times contain a hidden transformative process you can tap into.
