CORONAVIRUS

3Engage them with creative activities. As teens can seek independence, making sure they spend quality time with the family is also important for their well-being, research shows. “Find ways to connect, converse and unwind together as a family,” advises Crissy Fishbane, of RaleighDurham, North Carolina, co-founder of HER Health Collective, an online community for mothers. “Teens need to see their parents engaging in self-care behaviors themselves, and it’s even better if you can engage in self-care as a family.” She suggests taking a virtual or outdoor yoga class together, playing a board game, having sudoku competitions, learning deepbreathing techniques or starting a family book club.

4Encourage reaching out to help others. A study in theJournal of Adolescence suggests that altruistic behaviors, including large and small acts of kindness, may increase teens’ feelings of self-worth, especially if it involves helping strangers. In Poland, the more teens helped out others in a flood, the more supportive and proactive they became, another study found. Depending on their interests, teens may be drawn to local environmental, social justice, religious or political activities. DoSomething.org offers useful ideas and links, and environmental projects for teens can be found at EarthForce.com, SierraClub. com and GlobalClimateStrike.com.

Ronica O’Hara is a Denver-based health writer. Connect at OHaraRonica@gmail.com.

Other Helpful Resources Making Friends with Yourself: A Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Teens and Young Adults: centerformsc.org/ msc-teens-adults

Seven Expert Tips for Talking with

Teens:ParentAndTeen.com/keep-teenstalking-learn-to-listen/tal

How to Communicate with Your Teen

Through Active Listening:Psy-Ed.com/ wpblog/communicate-with-teen The Kid’s Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference

Coronavirus as a Calling

by Gregg Levoy

Not to diminish the fact that we’re from our goals and how it can block our dealing with a serious and worldwide intentions, but as a vehicle of meditation itepidemiological threat, the pandemic can self: How do we feel, what wants to emerge be transmuted into golden opportunities, and what do we truly know? especially if we follow the sometimes blind spiritual instinct that tells us this crisis— Appreciate it as connective tissue in indeed each of our individual lives—has society. We’re seeing firsthand how our purpose and meaning, and that we need to individual actions can affect those around act on this impulse despite the temptation us, for better and for worse, and that we deto back down and run for cover. Here are pend on one another for survival. Washing four ways to respond to the call of these our hands and sheltering in place are acts of turbulent times: both self-care and community care. In the Use it as a reset. For months, it has been invulnerability was so shockingly revealed, impossible to conduct busyness-as-usual, many of us began holding doors open for and we may be left with unaccustomed strangers, spending more time with our time on our hands. But like the asteroid kids, honking less and listening more. Life’s that ushered out the dinosaurs and gave fragility, our fragility, woke us up to our the mammals underfoot a shot at promineed for each other. Now that social isolanence, once the thunder lizards of everytion is suddenly forced on us, it reminds us day busyness and distraction are sidelined, how precious those connections are. parts of us that are normally overshadowed may be given an entrance cue—not Approach it as a reminder of mortality. just projects we’ve back-burnered in The pandemic is a perfect opportunity to deference to the daily grind, but deeper practice the fine and fearsome art of nonthoughts and feelings about our prioriattachment, because life will ultimately ask ties, the status quo, work/life (im)balance us to surrender everything. “We all owe or our inner life. The better part of valor God a death,” Shakespeare wrote. We can and wisdom may lie in asking, “What can use this time to clarify what’s important I learn here?” rather than, “How can I and how to best use our precious nick of overcome this?” time. When we strip ourselves of any ilConsider it a powerful meditation.Medilive our lives to the fullest. tation teachers tell us that distractions weeks following 9/11 when the fiction of our lusions of immortality, we are thus free to aren’t obstacles, they are the meditation, so Gregg Levoy is the author of Callings: Findthat we say to ourselves, “Ah, the dog-bark ing and Following an Authentic Life and meditation,” or “Ah, the weed-whacker Vital Signs: The Nature and Nurture of Pasmeditation.” The same with the coronavision, and a regular blogger for Psychology rus. Approach it not just as a distraction Today. Learn more at GreggLevoy.com.