We are confused, excited and apprehensive with the reopening of business. While we’ve been anxiously awaiting for life to return to normal so we can grab a bite with friends or visit our favorite spa, we are still reasonably concerned about how to adjust our social and life activities post-COVID-19.

I spent the first six months of 2017 living in the hospital while my 5-year-old son, Ari, waited for, received, and rejected a heart transplant. During that time I’d spend my nights an hour away from him with our 3-year-old daughter and 6-month-old son. Each morning I’d fight Boston traffic to spend my days with Ari on the 8th floor at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Never before had my head been so distracted and my heart so heavy, so taxed. We faced incredible uncertainty. Would my son get a heart? How long would he (and we) live full-time at the hospital waiting? Would he die while he waited? Would he survive after he received his heart?

With the recent mandates to maintain social isolation, people are more stressed than ever before. Anxiety and panic are plaguing people who have previously managed stress with ease. Licensed Clinical Psychotherapist Erin Wiley, MA, LPCC shares the importance of healthy mental health habits during this time and tips to put into place.

Being under stay-at-home orders provides an opportunity to focus on embracing simple disciplines that can change our health and happiness for the long haul, Erin believes. “Refuse to get stuck in the traps of social distancing: staying up late, consuming too much food, alcohol, television and social media, sleeping in, and letting the day go by without a structured plan or schedule,” she advises. “By throwing all discipline out the window in a stressful time, you lose a really unique opportunity to trade unhealthy habits for healthy ones that could change the trajectory of your life for the better.”

Is it possible to have a worry-free pandemic? After all, there seem to be endless things to worry about—from our own survival and well-being, to that of our loved ones, to the overall trajectory of the global economy. According to Karen McGregor, author of The Tao of Influence: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Leaders and Entrepreneurs, worry comes at a high cost to our health, it's a symptom of a bigger problem. Worrying also drastically suppresses your immune system.

“You could eat the world's cleanest diet, but if you worry all the time, you're basically saying, 'No, thanks, organic veggies and fruit—I'm choosing the greasy burger joint down the street.' That's what the stress of worry does to our bodies”.