4 Crucial Lessons I Learned About My Mind-Body Connection While Recovering From COVID-19

Disclaimer: What I'm sharing here is what helped me recover from COVID. It's my journey with it; it's not a prescription, and I am not claiming to be a COVID-19 expert.

The moment I got the results of my positive COVID-19 test, my insides twisted up and my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach. I spent the rest of that afternoon feeling sorry for myself and contemplating how I might have gotten it. I'd been quarantining like it was an Olympic event, but apparently, I could've done better.

The next day I woke up with some of the same feelings, but I also started challenging those negative thoughts. Instead, I asked myself: What if COVID isn't a life sentence? What if a full recovery is possible?

It seems like no coincidence to me that the month I got COVID also happened to be the month I experienced more stress than usual. After what happened to George Floyd, I decided to start a community called AllyNow to support people in becoming better allies. Facilitating so many charged conversations left me inspired but simultaneously stressed out, leaving my immune system extra vulnerable.

I let activism become more important than my own well-being practices, like my consistent morning routine, which usually set me up to navigate anything. And as I got caught up in taking care of a community more than myself, my mindset muscle got weak, doubt crept in, and stress came next. Needless to say, I have a whole new respect for activists who are constantly on the front lines of social justice.

As soon as I got symptoms, I called my integrative doctor and turned to my in-house nutritionist partner to do everything in my power to get well again. I took my doctor's advice to prioritize sleep and manage my stress levels. Plus, nutrition became one of my top priorities. I filled my diet with nutrient-dense vegetables, reduced my sugar intake, and drank plenty of water.

Even after most of my symptoms had subsided, I continued to have a hard time getting out of bed. Then I was introduced to a new morning routine (inspired by Hal Elrod's book Miracle Mornings), which involves meditation, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and journaling. It helped me refocus my thoughts, and became a great kick-start to a better daily mindset.

I also embraced other types of self-love, like playing music during the day that would get me dancing and in a great state of mind.

The role of community during a pandemic can be a bit complicated since we can't get together quite like we used to. However, it's still possible to connect, and the way we connect makes a huge difference. The minute I started to share about getting COVID-19 with the people in my life was the minute I started feeling better. Plus, thanks to conversations with friends who made a full recovery from the virus, I was able to shift that initial negative perspective and start to turn things around.