Self Care During Covid with Adhana McCarthy

Strategies for taking care of yourself with compassion

Show Notes

Summary

Self-care in the time of Covid is more important than it ever has been. How are you taking care of yourself? Adhana McCarthy shares some great advice on slowing down, grounding, exploring grief, and dealing with negative thoughts. She is a Physician Assistant (PA-C) and Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), and Iraqi war veteran, wife, and mother of a 3-year-old son. She is also a researcher pursuing a PhD in Public Health at UCSD, and the director of Hug Garden.

Topics

Adhana shares a practice for grounding [2:03]
People’s hierarchy of needs during Covid [5:07]
Her words on slowing down [6:26]
Hug Garden outreach [7:33]
Why you should be gentle with yourself during covid [9:28]

“Whatever ideals you had about parenting, it's just gonna be knocked on its butt, you don't have all the supports to make that happen at the same level. And so spinning your wheels trying to make this perfectly curated thing is not nearly as important as just spending time with them and saying that you love them. And having them occasionally say that they love you.”

Why yoga is slow medicine but strong medicine [12:19]
How to know when to say no [15:10]
She discusses her training in South Korea in Zen yoga [20:50]
Why you should explore your grief [23:13]
How journaling helps her cope [29:33]
Dealing with negative thoughts [33:39]

“So, you have these automatic negative thoughts. And you're like, Hmm, this keeps popping up. What is the truth? What would I tell my son, my three-year-old son if he came to me and told me Oh, I don't deserve to be here. I'm not smart enough to be in school.”

Her favorite mantra [35:53]
Being ok with ambiguity [46:31]
Ways to find self-care [48:22]

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