We had another wonderful Zoom meeting. On May 15th, it is our club's 11th Anniversary. Laura's father, Lawrence, joined us on Zoom as Laura's guest. Our speaker was Dr. Mary Berge, a Rotarian herself and a Clinical Psychologist in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. With the time difference, it was nice of Dr. Berge to get on our Zoom meeting and give us tips to deal with COVID-19 emotional fatigue issues. Her first tip was to limit information allowed in. We are being overwhelmed with information. We should check in on the latest news once in the morning and once at night, but not after 7 p.m. We need at least three hours to psychologically wind down. She also recommended that people stick to normal routine if they are working at home, but leave the computer and the room every couple of hours for 10 minutes each time. We should also write down own fitness, hydration and healthy eating goals and exercise on a regular basis as exercise keeps inflammation low and increases serotonin. She also recommended that we hug our family since intimacy releases oxytocin. Also, we should take five seconds as often as possible to reflect on what we are grateful for since that releases dopamine. We need to smile even if we fake it. Apparently, studies have shown that our brain doesn't know the difference between a fake or real smile so by smiling, we release dopamine. Finally, Dr. Berge taught us that anxiety is the enemy since it can destroy dopamine and oxytocin. Anxiety happens when we live in the future by always thinking "what if ....?" According to Dr. Berge, we may not be able to control situations in life such as COVID-19, but we can control how we handle situations in our lives. Overall, this was a great, informative meeting.
