What's been mybiggest challenge of the coronavirus pandemic? Tryingto understand the line between real hope, and Pollyanna-ish nave hope. The line between courage and modeling bravery versus foolishness and modeling denialism. When I am confused, as a journalist, I seek out experts. Are there experts in hope? Yes! So this is the first in an ongoing series in different practical explorations of hope, in this crisis. Stay strong y'all, we are resilient.

Mary Jo Kreitzer is one of the worlds experts on the mind-body connection. A pediatric nurse practitioner who grew into teaching, and then founded the University of Minnesotas Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing, Kreitzer has probably taught more health-care professionals about mind-body connections and evidence-based integrative medicine than anyone in the country. Of course I turned to her first.

DMG: I never know if Im overreacting or underreacting anymore.

Mary Jo Keitzer: Thats common right now.We had a webinar last night, on Mindfulness in Stressful Times, 900 people were on it.You can watch it. Were going to be doing a lot more going forward, to develop resources for providers on the front lines, and for the public. As to the current moment, like everyone, Ive had a few days to think about it. What do these times even mean? Its a time when its really important to be real, and being real to me is acknowledging the reality of the situation. Not to put our heads in the sand, but to recognize the impact the pandemic is having. At the same time we need to be real about the needs of our family, our friends, our workplaces.The three things I think we all need to do are be mindful, reach out, and take care of yourself and those around you.

DMG: I feel like a lot of us hear the word mindfulness more than we know what to do with it.

Mary Jo Kreitzer: To me, being mindful is getting in touch with what youre really feeling in the present moment. We have dualities, we can be two things at the same timewe can be terrified and sad, and at the same time look for meaning, and find hope. For a lot of people right now, they are just riding these incredible waves, and they flip back and forth. Fear, hope. Hope, terror. Its an emotional rollercoaster. Part of mindfulness is being aware of that, what youre feeling, and what youre needing.

For instance, for a lot of parents working from home now, its exhausting. So mindfulness in that instance would be to notice when your body is getting really, really tired. Maybe you make a choice to go to bed earlier. Maybe you step outside your routines and pay attention to what you need in the moment.For a lot of people, its hard to find a separation between work and home life now, its all turning into one blur. Mindfulness might be seeing the risks of taking no breaks, making boundaries where there are no boundaries. Eating healthy, getting exercise, getting up and movingcan you be aware of needing those?

[The University of Minnesotas new] President Gable put out such an amazing message at the beginning of this, she said; Do the best you can. We recognize you have kids at home, and we are going to take care of you, we have your back.I think this is an important time to give that message, were all going to do the best we can, and were not perfect. Part of mindfulness practice and being real is to recognize that this is a time of enormous upheaval and were all doing the best we can. In that, were each going to have better days and were going to have worse days.

If youre having a day when youre feeling particularly anxious, maybe its best to turn off the news so youre not constantly watching it, realizing that it might be easier for your kids to trigger a negative reaction when youre anxious, and be angry or irritated or whatever. Even noticing that you feel like you could explode is mindfulness, and noticing can help you choose your response.

Another key practice is: Reach out.When weve been told to socially distance, I actually think we should rephrase that to [not just] talk about physical distance but social connection.Isolation and loneliness are huge issues that compromise our physical and mental health. Can we find ways to reach out, by FaceTime or phone calls? My team and I are having multiple huddles a week, some of it is to do work and some of it just to care for each other. Were Zooming! I think Zoom is huge. Skype, FaceTime, Google HangoutsIve been on all of those this week.

Seeing the ways others are reaching out, that gives me hope. Even the lovely photos or stories people are sending around, those are generous efforts to connect. The incredible and beautiful human to human connections Im seeingprofessional and amateur musicians doing concerts online. Theyre working to make connections.The people who step outside at seven oclock to sing or wave to their neighbors, connections. The efforts people are making to contribute to food shelves, that altruism, when we think about the world outside ourselves it not only helps others, it helps ourselves. Altruism feeds the human spirit.

DMG: Youre making me feel better already. Im not overreacting. And your third point, taking care of ourselves?

Mary Jo Kreitzer: Taking care of yourself can be much more difficult than it sounds. Its really easy at this time to ignore the enormous impact this has on all aspects of our health and wellbeingthis is an unprecedented human global event. Nothing has happened in quite the same way thats impacting everyone, eroding our infrastructure and our economy at the same time. What healthy choices can you make in an unprecedented situation in terms of eating, sleeping, managing stress and emotions?Its really important. Dealing with anxiety and fear while cultivating mindfulness, reaching out, and taking care of yourselfthats really the global challenge right now for all of us. You should find some real people who are doing it and ask them to tell you about their successes.

DMG: Thats a great idea. I will do that.Take care of yourself Mary Jo!

Mary Jo Kreitzer: Tell everyone well be putting more resources online. Spread the word!

Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality& Healing, University of Minnesota,csh.umn.edu

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Hope in the Time of Coronavirus: Mary Jo Kreitzer - Mpls.St.Paul Magazine